Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Photography

Goldfinch Feeder

Finches at the feeder

This is one of our two Nyjer Seed Finch Feeders in the back yard. They are mounted on a crook which is staked into the ground.

Note that the seed level is at about three-quarters full. I took this photo less than 24 hours since I filled the feeders to the top. Clearly, the Nyjer Seeds are very popular with the finches.

We get a couple of species of finch that visit the feeders: House Finches and Goldfinches.

I asked GROK about the birds in this photo:

These are Lesser Goldfinches (Spinus psaltria), a very common and delightful visitor to nyjer (thistle) feeders in Arizona.

Quick Breakdown of the Birds in Your Photo:

  • Bottom left (brightest one): Adult male Lesser Goldfinch. You can clearly see the diagnostic solid black cap, bright lemon-yellow underparts, and black wings with bold white wingbars/patches. This is the classic look for males in breeding plumage.
  • Bottom right: Likely a female or immature/juvenile. Females are duller overall (more olive-yellow) with less contrast, no full black cap, and subtler wing markings.
  • Top right (on the side): Another bird in a more olive/grayish-green plumage, typical of females or younger birds.
  • There’s also a partially visible bird behind the feeder on the left that appears to have streaked brown tones, possibly another finch or a different visitor.

Lesser Goldfinches are one of the most frequent nyjer-seed specialists in the Southwest. They’re small, acrobatic, and often come in small flocks. In the high Sonoran Desert around Wickenburg, they’re year-round residents and love these tube-style finch feeders.

Camera Info:

  • Camera: Canon EOS Rebel SL3
  • Artist: Cap’n Bob (C) 07/18/2026
  • Exposure: 1/320 sec.
  • Aperture: F5.6
  • Speed: ISO 200
  • Focal Length: 180mm
  • Lens: Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM
18 Jul 2026 by Arizona Critters Photography 0

Saguaro Cactus Fruit

Saguaro Cactus Fruit – image (C) CapnBob

I took this photo of our Saguaro by the RV drive this morning. Grok had the following to say about it:

Saguaro cactus fruit (from Carnegiea gigantea, the iconic giant cactus of the Sonoran Desert) is a vibrant, nutrient-rich seasonal treat that plays a crucial ecological role in the arid Southwest, especially in areas like your Wickenburg garden.

Your attached photo perfectly captures the classic look: the green, oval-to-egg-shaped fruits (roughly plum-sized) grow high on the arms of the saguaro. As they ripen in late May through July (peaking around June–early July in Arizona), the outer skin splits open into 3–4 sections, revealing a striking bright red to magenta pulp packed with up to ~3,500 tiny black seeds. The pulp is juicy and sweet, while the seeds have a nutty flavor. This timing aligns with the hottest, driest part of the year, just before the summer monsoons, making the fruit a vital source of moisture and nutrition for desert wildlife.

Key Facts About the Fruit:

  • Edibility and Uses: Humans have harvested it for centuries (e.g., by the Tohono O’odham people, who call it bahidaj). It can be eaten raw, made into syrups, jams, cakes, or drinks. The seeds are high in protein and fats.
  • Production: A single mature saguaro can produce around 150 fruits in a good season, turning the plant into a “desert grocery store.”
  • Your Photo: The split-open fruit with vivid red interior is exactly how it appears when ripe and ready—very attractive to foragers!

Birds That Harvest It:

Birds are major consumers and help with seed dispersal (some seeds pass through undamaged or are dropped while feeding). Key species include:

  • White-winged Doves (Zenaida asiatica): These are the most prominent. They time their breeding so that chicks hatch when saguaro fruit ripens, providing critical food and water. They eat the pulp and seeds directly from the cactus (often seen perched on or leaning into the fruit). They also help pollinate the flowers earlier in the season.
  • Gila Woodpeckers: Frequently feed on the fruit.
  • Curve-billed Thrashers, Northern Mockingbirds, Verdins, House Finches, and others: These also feast on the sweet, juicy pulp and seeds.

Mammals like coyotes, ground squirrels, and javelina eat fallen fruit on the ground, while bats may visit too.

The relationship is mutualistic: birds get hydration and energy in the harsh desert summer, while the saguaro benefits from seed spread (sometimes to “nurse plants” under bushes or trees where dropped seeds can germinate safely).

If you’re seeing this in your garden or on local hikes, it’s a great sign of a healthy Sonoran Desert ecosystem—perfect timing for your bird photography interests!

Keep in mind that AI (in spite of the hype) can make mistakes, so take the above with a grain of salt, although I found the write up to be accurate according to our knowledge about the subjects.

Click on the image to enlarge.

12 Jul 2026 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography 0

La Bella Luna

Not quite a full moon tonight, but La Bella Luna (Italian for “the beautiful moon”) was shining at 98 percent of full when I took this (clickable) photo. The official “Strawberry” full moon will be tomorrow afternoon at roughly 5 PM Arizona time. At sunset, if you are able, look to the east and the moonrise should put on a pretty good show.

I took this image using my Canon R10 and a recently acquired 100-400mm zoom lens. I cropped the image a bit to allow the moon to fill the frame. The resolution is good enough to see the craters shadows on the left side while all the remaining albedo appears closely to what the naked eye sees. The lens is only a telephoto and not a telescope, so the image needs a little cropping help to get the moon properly centered and prominently sized in the frame. Again, click to view enlarged.

Image details:

  • Camera: Canon EOS R10
  • Artist: Cap’n Bob [C] All rights reserved
  • Shutter: 1/4000sec
  • Aperture: F8.0
  • Program: Manual Control
  • ISO: 6400
  • Focal Length: 400mm
  • Lens: Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM
28 Jun 2026 by Astronomy Notions Photography Technobabble 0

R10 Panoramic Mode

Panoramic images have always been an interest of mine. Early on, I used to take a series of adjacent , overlapping images and would “stitch” them together using an old application that did the job. Now, the function has been integrated right into some cameras.

My Kodak PixPro FZ152 has a panoramic function, but it can be kind of picky in the stitching process, and frequently will overlap in the wrong places. Maybe that is due to the way I used it, but regardless, it seemed clumsy to me.

I took the panorama above with my Canon EOS R10 in its panoramic mode. It works much better; all I have to do is press the shutter button and hold while I smoothly pan from left to right (optionally the other way too) to get what my eye perceives as a smooth and seamless image. Click on the image and pan using the image viewer scroll bar at the bottom.

I took the image from our courtyard looking west; the image spans the west leg of the RV drive sweeping from the road across the west cactus and rock garden, mesquite and paloverde trees, the lemon tree to the back gate of the courtyard.

I will try and get some more interesting panoramas as the opportunities arise.

22 Jun 2026 by Arizona Home & Garden Notions Panorama Photography Technobabble 0

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox).

This is a very common and widespread species in our part of Arizona (Sonoran Desert around Wickenburg). Key visible features that support the ID:

  • Body pattern: Light tan/grayish-brown background with a series of dark diamond/hexagonal blotches along the back that often have lighter centers. These are classic for C. atrox.
  • Tail banding: Very distinct alternating black-and-white rings on the tail (visible toward the upper right in the photo). This is one of the most reliable field marks for Western Diamondbacks.
  • Overall build: Heavy-bodied with a relatively broad head and the characteristic rattle.

Safety note for your area
Western Diamondbacks are responsible for most rattlesnake bites in Arizona, though they’re generally not aggressive unless provoked or cornered. They’re common in rocky desert yards like ours, especially near structures, water sources or debris.

Recommendations:

  • Keep your distance and give it space — it will likely move on if left alone.
  • Be cautious around the garden/rocks at dawn/dusk when they’re more active.

I took this photo today when this evil-looking critter slithered into the yard. I kept my distance and used the camera’s 210mm focal length to get this (clickable) close-up.

Eventually, the snake kept on going as there wasn’t anything interesting for it in our yard.

19 Jun 2026 by Arizona Critters Photography 0

New Camera Toy

I’ve been playing around with the new(ish) Canon EOS R10 camera since getting it last February. This week, I ordered and received a Canon RF100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM telephoto lens. I tried it out today and got a few shots around the yard including the one above of a Mourning Dove and Cactus Wren perched atop one of the birdseed feeders out back. I was easily 30 feet from the birds when I took the photo. I am intend to use the new lens for wildlife and possibly astronomical photos. More on those as time marches on.

For my older Canon SL3 Camera, I have a good collection of lenses for various purposes, not the least of which is the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L is II USM telephoto lens. Comparing the older telephoto to the new one, there are a couple of things worth noting:

  • Weight: The old lens weighs in at 3 lb 10 oz, while the new lens is only 1 lb 8 oz.
  • Length @ 400mm: old is 10.75 inches and new is 9.5 inches.

Using the old lens on the SL3 makes the camera very front-heavy and, while not absolutely necessary, could use a monopod or some other support for longer periods of use. The bigger lens has its own tripod mount. The new camera and lens aren’t noticeably as front-heavy and the weight doesn’t seem to be an issue when carrying it around.

So, I’ll report on any amazing things I encounter when using the new setup. Stay tuned.

As usual, you may click on the image above to view enlarged in a new tab or window.

Update 20260617 20:29 AZ time: Venus and the Moon in the western sky. Using the R10 and 400mm Lens . . .

17 Jun 2026 by Critters Notions Photography Retirement

Rare Sighting — Caterham R400


The Damsel took this (clickable) photo of a Caterham Seven Superlight R400 (or simply “Caterham R400”), a lightweight, high-performance British sports car. We were pulling out of the parking lot at our local Basha’s and saw this beauty parked on the street in front of St. Anthony’s Church.

It seems that there are only a few hundred of these in the entire United States, so it is extremely rare (a.k.a. Sasquatch sighting) to see one of these in Wickenburg, a town known for it’s Cowboy and retirement cultures and not too many sports cars, let alone this rare beast.

About this car:

The Caterham Seven is a modern evolution of the classic Lotus 7 from the 1950s. It’s an ultra-minimalist, open-top, two-seater roadster designed for pure driving thrills—think raw handling, minimal weight, and maximum engagement. The “R400” (or Superlight R400) is a performance-oriented variant from the mid-to-late 2000s, known for its excellent power-to-weight ratio. The “400” name comes from its ~400 bhp per ton power-to-weight figure, which gives it supercar-like acceleration despite modest horsepower.

Caterhams like the R400 are legendary for telepathic steering, razor-sharp handling, and go-kart-like agility. They’re track weapons that are (barely) road-legal. Expect wind-in-the-face excitement, a loud exhaust note, and a firm ride. They’re not for commuting or comfort—getting in/out is a gymnastic exercise—but they’re addictive on twisty roads or circuits.

More at this SuperGrok link.

03 Jun 2026 by Arizona Classics Notions Photography Something Shiny

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