Hummingbirds at the Desert Museum!

Here are some Hummingbirds from the Desert Museum.

I believe this is a Costa's Hummingbird. I had never seen one before! Isn't that purple neck collar beautiful???

This is a hummingbirds nest.....about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long and about the same in width. And here is the bird on it, but I have no idea which type of hummingbird it is!

The hummingbirds didn't seem bothered by the people and would zoom in and out and around you as you watched them. I thought one was going to land on my hand at one point and a lady with a pink hat on was being chased by another (it apparently thought she was a large flower). There was a bush with lovely orange flowers that they really liked. We got some "hovering" shots there.

I can't identify these that are sitting on the branch....they might be females of any of them. I would guess that they are Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds, but not sure.

Turtles and lizards...

I'm going to go ahead and post several things, since my posting schedule is more messed up here.

This is one of my sister's pet turtles. He has been hibernating all winter and just woke up Monday. We found him wandering around the back yard when we got home from the museum.

The one below is a very nice shot Mike took at the Desert Museum of a different turtle!

We also got a couple of nice lizard pictures, but I don't know one lizard from another! I think it is the same lizard in both pics.

Desert Museum....this and that

Desert Bluebell and Mexican Gold Poppy

We spent half the day today at the Desert Museum. http://www.desertmuseum.org/ Wonderful place! It is a "living museum", as they point out. It is full of the plants and animals and birds of the area. You wander along paths lined with cacti, wildflowers, trees, etc. and there is also a Hummingbird viewing area and an aviary and some animal exhibits. We went today mostly for wildflowers, cacti and birds. Mike and I both were shooting pics, so some are his and some mine. He is taller and can get better pics of some things than I can :-) I don't begin to know what to post!

Brittlebush

They had some rain last week so there are wildflowers along the road (especially the Brittlebush) , that are not easy to stop and photograph because of the narrow busy road with no shoulder areas. The drive there takes you through the Saguaro National Forest and we stopped at one overlook area to photograph some of the wildflowers.

Fairyduster

We saw several Cactus Wrens and got to see their nest, too! One of them was taking bits of fluff to line his nest in the Cholla Cactus where they like to build. It may have come from these strange Cacti, that are nicknamed "Old Men".

This is a Century Plant....Century Plants bloom only once in their life, the blooming spike is so large and grows so fast that it saps all the resources of the plant, which then dies, leaving a tall wooden seed stalk. The plant is called the "century plant" because of this "once a century" bloom (actually the plant lives an average of 25 years).

This is a close-up of the flower of the Century Plant. It is a very strange plant......so tall!

This is a Yellow Grosbeak, that lives in Mexico and SE Arizona. Very striking! This was taken in the aviary at the museum. There were birds there that I probably would not see in the wild.

Enough for now! I'll continue with hummingbirds and other stuff tomorrow!

Pyrrhuloxia, Phainopepla and other difficult birds :-)

Pyrrhuloxia

I know this is a terrible picture.....shot through a poor window in too much sunshine! But it is the first half way decent picture I have of the Pyrrhuloxia. This bird looks a lot like a female Cardinal to me, but there are definite differences....the beak is different and it is very grey, with a red crest and red across the face. Interesting and I hope I get a better picture before I leave here! The Cardinals here seem much slimmer and a little longer then the ones back home. The House Finches also appear to be longer and slimmer. Either the climate or the food here seems to have given them a different appearance.

Phainopepla

I keep trying for a closer picture of the Phainopepla, but they like to stay high in the top of the tree. If I had a photo program on my computer, I might be able to crop this! Rats. They are a long black bird with a ragged looking crest. They are suppose to have a red eye, but I haven't gotten that close yet. I think the second picture is the female....she is grey. Hard to tell at that distance! They eat berries and like the Mistletoe and Junipers and such and spread the seeds in their droppings.

Gambel's Quail male

Gambel's Quail females

I continue to be fascinated with the Gambel's Quail that run along my sister's low wall and drop down and scurry everywhere eating anything they can find! They are such a mix of patterns. Fat round grey body, with brown wing area streaked with white hash marks. Then the male has a light area on his chest and a dark band across the lower part of the chest. When he puffs up it is interesting looking. I saw 2 males bumping each other like Sumo wrestlers and then bowing to each other. Funny....very territorial, I guess. The lower belly is streaked with brown. The male's face is black ringed with white and then the brown cap with the little topknot feather! A strange bird, to say the least! The female has a plain head except for a smaller topknot. They are really funny to watch when they all panic and scurry off as fast as their little legs will take them. I took a video and then ruined it by forgetting to turn off the camera and panning the floor.

I'll have to hide this picture from my sister of the bunny on his tiptoes eating her plant that she is trying to protect from him.......shhhhhh....don't tell her!

I have several pictures from this morning of the Gila Woodpecker, the quail, and the bunny all foraging where I tossed a bunch of bird seed. The Gila was partial to the peanuts and I believe that is what is in his mouth here.You can see the Gila Woodpecker flying off the right side of this picture. Not a great picture, but I liked catching his flight.

Happy Easter!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow;

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living, just because He lives!

(by Gloria Gaither and William Gaither)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life!"

(John 3:16)