The Best of 2016 - Let's Try Again

Not quite sure what happened last year, my blog kind of fizzled out. I'm taking another stab at it, we'll see how far we get. In previous years I have kicked off the new year with a 'Best of' from the previous twelve months. So here goes - The Best Of 2016.

First off we'll go with our spineless friends, the inverts..................
I don't get many cicadas around but this one posed very obligingly and allowed me to get a fun, eye shot.

The next photo was not fun to watch but we mustn't interfere with the natural course of things. This is a tarantula hawk, it has just caught and paralyzed its prey and then proceeded to drag it away. Nature is harsh.



For the amphibians we have our regular representative, the fabulous Sonoran Desert Toad. He seemed quite delighted with the new fountain we installed and could be found sitting in it most evenings during the summer.



Our feathered friends continue to delight and as always I struggled to prune down the photos. This first little beauty is a Black-throated Sparrow. They have a beautiful call that sounds like a little bell.



At the other end of the scale is this lovely guy, just looking for a hug!



It's always a happy time when we hear the first Purple Martin call of the summer. We are very lucky that they choose to use the saguaros on our land to nest in each year.



We had a major power shift this year. For almost the entire time that we have owned the property the south west side of our house has been ruled with a rod of iron by a Broad-billed Hummingbird that we christened Twigman! This year the reign ended and he was succeeded by an even smaller tyrant. Here he is.



We didn't have a good year as far as snakes go, just a couple of sightings of a Coachwhip. We did have other reptile representation though. This was one of three Gila Monsters that we saw this year - not so rare for us apparently!



Something that made me laugh was this Desert Spiny Lizard who found some of the dried mango that had fallen from a bird feeder. He pounced on it and shook it before carrying it off.



The absolute highlight of the year was definitely this little Desert Tortoise who trundled up to our front door one afternoon. Our first! So exciting, it bought tears of joy to my eyes.



The plant stars are all about agaves this year. The first is purely sculptural

The second is another agave that decided to end it all this year by throwing up a flower stalk. Going out in a blaze of glory.

The landscape winners evoke a specific mood, firstly with silhouettes

And then secondly with a whole palette of colours.

The final group for the year is mammals and we have had some beauties this past twelve months. A first sighting of a jackrabbit was a great surprise.

I was very happy to see that one of our wildlife cameras finally captured a daylight picture of one of our beautiful Hog-nosed Skunks.

It won't win any prizes but I was  delighted to finally get a photo of a pocket mouse at night with his cheeks filled with seed.

The new fountain has provided lots of great sightings and so we had to put a wildlife camera next to it. Look at these two lovelies.

Our Bobcat activity has been amazing this past year. They felt so at home that they bought their kittens to visit many times. This one loved sleeping under the bird bath on the back patio.

And here is Mom with her two youngsters walking past the kitchen window.

So there we are, another amazing year full of natures treasures. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing species. Long may it continue.

Perspective

Sometimes when photographing the birds in my yard I like to take a different perspective. The standard shots still have their appeal certainly

But sometimes the details appeal

The imperfections, the missing feather

The different angles

The shots that make a subject real rather than posed

Not that I would ever suggest that this fierce little Costas is anything less than perfection

The Watcher

One evening when sitting in our sundown spot watching the evening draw in we got the sensation we were being watched. Sure enough, this diminutive character was perched on the highest twig, keeping an eye on us.

Twigman Has A Serious Rival

Our resident Broadbilled Hummingbird, Twigman has ruled the roost all around our house for so long now we take it as a matter of course. Sure other male hummingbirds sneak in from time to time and grab a slurp from one of the numerous feeders but it doesn't take long for our little tyrant to find them out and send them packing. A few days ago I noticed he had cranked his displeasure up a few decibels and he was getting an equally vociferous response. This went on for far longer than normal so I decided to go out and investigate. Sure enough, Twigman was swooping back and forth chattering furiously but it wasn't having the desired effect. 'Someone' was standing their ground on the other side of the house and refusing to be chased off! A very handsome Anna's Hummingbird had decided that six feeders were all together too much for one chap to rule over and had laid a very firm claim to a couple of them. And so a rather uneasy truce has come about. They spend a lot of time reminding each other just which feeder belongs to who and there is lots of glaring from suitably elevated positions but it would appear that Twigman has had to learn to share.

We Are Not Amused!

I have done my year end 'best of'' post for four years now and every year a certain larger than life character has featured in the bird section. Twigman terrorizes chatters to everyone who dares to enter his domain, be they human, hawk, javalina, squirrel or, heaven forbid, another hummingbird. He rules the west and south sides of our house in tyrannical style. So imagine what he had to say when he learned that he had been excluded from the 2014 'best of' post! The only way I could restore the peace was to assure him he would have the first post of 2015, all to himself. 

Feathers

Not my best hummingbird shot but I just loved the feather details on this little lady.

The Best of 2013

Better late than never, here is my traditional 'Best of'' post for 2013. As usual I was completely incapable of selecting one critter for each category but I guess that just means we saw lots of cool stuff throughout the year which can't be a bad thing.

So first off, the wonderful plants that surround us. During April and May the desert bursts into bloom in an entirely flamboyant way. Each sub-species of Prickly Pear produces a different colour.

 

In August it is the turn of the Barrel Cactus to stun



And as if the blooms weren't beautiful enough, the fruit are not too shabby either.



In the Invertebrate section, an old favourite puts in another appearance, we seemed to have so many tarantulas this year, we love having them around.



From a slightly higher elevation, this outrageous Caterpillar made quite a dramatic appearance. It will eventually turn into a Hubbards Small Silkmoth but this is most definitely it's 'big moment,'



There was one particular amphibian who demanded to be acknowledged this year. The diminutive Red-spotted Toad has a HUGE voice and this individual set up shop by our pool this summer and made his presence known every night, very loudly. So it only seems fair that he should represent the amphibian group.



A group that I don't usually include but, lets face it, is hard to ignore, I will call 'scenery.' And my goodness, is it dramatic!



If you have a moonrise, it seems only logical that a sunset should be part of the deal too.



We have had some lovely mammals around this year. The Rock Squirrels decided to overcome their usual shyness and move into our back patio area to raise there babies.



And it is always a huge treat when a Bobcat drops by to say hello.



We have had a great reptile year with all kinds of firsts, not least of which was this magnificent Western Diamondback that curled up peacefully beside our house one evening



I had a long chat with this next reptilian visitor. How could I not when presented with such an expressive face? Another very relaxed encounter which allowed me to take numerous photos...



Of course, by far the largest group of photos belongs to our avian friends. I just couldn't decide which were my favourites. Well lets face it, they all are!
For imagery this Cardinal really got himself set up perfectly.

But not to be outdone, his close relative, the Pyrrhuloxia used the same technique to ensure inclusion in the year end review.



For sheer entertainment it is hard to beat the goofy Roadrunner with its crazy antics. This one sat in a tree next to me, chattering and scolding me while I took its picture.



This Great-horned Owl however seemed rather less engaged in his photo session!

Our resident Coopers Hawk, never fails to provide a little drama at the unfortunate expense of numerous quail and doves.



But the loss of life is balanced by the creation of new life and it was a delight to watch a pair of Thrashers raise this pair of chicks in a Cholla Cactus.



But before I finish the bird section, I couldn't possibly move on without including 'the boss.' Twigman continues to rule the land with a steely glare and a fearsome chatter. Ignore him at your peril!!



And so on to a new year. Lets hope it is filled with 'all creatures great and small.'
Happy New Year everyone.