Baby quail, baby hawks, and lots of hummingbirds!.......

I knew it was going to be a great day when a family of quilt quail ran across the street in front of us as we left the driveway. (Note: glad someone caught my mistake...LOL)

 I've always wanted to see the baby quail, so I was thrilled that they paused in the yard to graze and I got a few shots of them.....not very close, but at least I saw them!

 So cute....about 10 babies.

 From there we headed to Patagonia.  At the park they had hummingbird feeders and lots of places for them to perch nearby, so I saw a lot of great hummers.  I can't identify most of them, but it was great seeing them. Notice the very wide tail spread on the right one.....Broad-billed Hummingbird.

 There were many of the Broad-bills, which are very pretty....blue and green and a red bill.

 No idea on these.

 Aren't these gorgeous???

 We thought this might be an immature one

Black-chinned on the right

 Soft and downy looking

 Anna's.....has a red face mask

 Both going and coming we were counting hawks on the poles (7 this day and 13 the day before).  Here is a nice Red-tail.

 .....and a nest with baby hawks!  

 A nest in a tree

A nest with a hawk sitting in it.

And I believe this is a Bewick's Wren, which is a life bird for me.

Bobcat.....just an over grown pussy cat......

We were sitting at the kitchen table when we saw this Bobcat arrive for a visit.  He was sitting on the wall that surrounds my sister's backyard!

At first he just stared where all the birds had been feeding a few minutes earlier.  There had been at least 5 bunnies, dozens of quail and doves and other birds out there until he/she? arrived.  I'm glad they took off even though I know the Bobcat needs food, too.

Getting more comfortable....

.....down into the yard....

A beautiful, but large cat! 

 "Who me?"

He liked the nice soft grass, which had just been watered shortly before he arrived.

 Just like my house cats.....eating the grass.

 "Ah.....comfy!"

 A nice big yawn.....

.......or two!

 Another?

This is the life for a tired cat.

Remember that grass he ate?  Time to puke it back up.....just like my house cats!

 He was very fortunate to get a drink of water afterwards.  My sister has two tortoises and one had just come out of hibernation earlier in the day and she set some water out for it.  Photos of the tortoise at a later date :-)

Laps like a house cat.

 Now time for a nice stretch.  Isn't that tail cute?

Yep....just like a house cat!

OK....time to leave.

Up and over the wall!

Wonder if it will be back tomorrow?  We'll see!

*************

I have so many things to post and we've been busy.  Also, my photo program doesn't seem to work well on this laptop....it keeps shutting down when I try to work with the photos.  I may be posting these long after I get back home! 

Birds, cacti, etc.......

I'm just going to throw some things together here.  I don't want to spend a lot of time at the computer and I don't like Mike's laptop.

 This is a new bird for me.....a Bronzed Cowbird.  That red eye is so noticeable even from way down below.

 A Cactus Wren.  Notice the little flower buds beginning on the Saguaro cactus.

 Gila Woodpeckers.  

 We went to the Desert Museum, which is a wonderful place to visit.  My favorite thing by far, was the Hummingbird area.  I don't usually get a chance to photograph different hummingbirds or see their nests.  I'm not good at identifying them, so I think I will leave them unidentified.

 This nest was way over my head, but Mike could get a photo.....it has 2 babies in it.  You can see the little beaks sticking up.

 This one is working on her nest.....it is very shallow at the moment.

 Even with a nice side view....I have no idea on which kind.  I'm just tickled to see them.

 Love this one.

 Tucking bits into the nest.

 Sort of a back view, but I like how the little cup of a nest just fits and the tail sticks up.

 Phainopepla male

Gambel's Quail male

 The Saguaro cactus are just beginning to bloom.  We saw a lot of buds, but not too many flowers yet.  Maybe next week!

 Hedgehog cactus...I think.

 Cholla come in lots of colors......I've seen orange, pink, redish, etc.

 Ocotillo

 Prickly Pear

 This Saguaro had the most flowers that we found so far.

Teddy Bear Cholla

Hope I got all the names and spelling correct!  If the cactus get more blooms this next week, I will get more photos.  

We've tried to do outdoor things the last few days because the weather had been cooler then normal for this time of year.  It is going to get hotter every day for the rest of our stay.  I'll do more posting after the weather drives me indoors.  Went to a Greek Orthodox Monastery......a real oasis in the middle of the desert....yesterday.  Photos later.