Secrets Revealed - Part Two

The second in my series of wildlife camera shots, here are a selection of critters from the last couple of months captured by our carport cam.

Our pretty little skunk

The very handsome red 'yotes

Mr Gila Woodpecker pops in to say hi.

The rock squirrel gathering nesting material

An invasion of javalina

Bobcat strolling by

Beautiful Gray Fox

And of course, 'meep, meep' had to put in an appearance.

I am Not Looking at You So You Can't See Me.

Our Rock Squirrels are notoriously shy. This one was clearly not happy when I spotted it so it worked on the policy of 'if I ignore it, it will go away.' Which of course, I did, eventually, after taking some photos. 

The Saga of the Snake in a Cage.

My husband has a packrat obsession. To a certain degree, I get it. They are extremely destructive and when we first bought our house they had invaded the roof space and caused no end of problems. But that was years ago and now they have been evicted and the house has been made rat proof. I just consider them to be part of the food chain on our land, they ensure we have a healthy population of bobcats, snakes and raptors, all of which I enjoy. However I don't think the war ever ended for my husband and whenever there is a new burrow, a new dropping, a new nibble on a cactus pad, he ignores all the other potential candidates and immediately accuses the hapless packrat. So, true to form, when we came home the other day to find a quite large excavation under our front step, my husband immediately stated the packrat was to blame. I expressed my doubts, saying that I thought the burrow was unusually large for a packrat but to no avail. One small concession I have achieved in the ongoing war is that we use 'have a heart' traps. They capture the animal without injuring it, thus allowing you to relocate it. So the traps were set outside the large burrow and we went to bed. The next morning I was woken at 5.50am (!) by my husband demanding that I come outside and 'sort this out.' So I stumbled out of the front door in t-shirt and flip-flops to be greeted by this....

I am trained to work with venomous snakes so my husband was not being entirely irrational in his request. It just wasn't quite how I had envisioned starting my morning. I went back inside and got myself more appropriately attired and grabbed my snake tools. The snake seemed quite relaxed, curled up in her 'nest.' There was no signs of aggression and she didn't rattle at all. I careful slid the door up and off the cage. Hubby suggested that I tip the cage up so that she would slide out but of course, snakes don't work like that.

She was very comfortable and wasn't going anywhere. I put the cage into a nearby flowerbed and left her in peace. I knew this wasn't going to be a quick process so went off and had breakfast.

Four hours later she finally decided that it was time to make a move and trundled slowly on her way.

She didn't seem to hold a grudge over her temporary confinement and allowed me to follow her progress and take numerous photos. (For future posts.)

Several hours later I happened to look out of the window and saw the true culprit emerging from the fresh excavations - a rock squirrel!

For once I am actually organised enough to link this post to Eileen's Saturday Critters. Please visit her great blog.

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.

All Grown Up Now.

This years litter of baby Rock Squirrels are all grown up now but I just couldn't resist one more picture from back in May when they were still ridiculously cute. What is it about baby animals? My goodness!

Worn Out

The baby Rock Squirrels I mentioned in the previous post play very hard but just like most babies, when it comes to nap time everything stops. This little guy tried briefly to keep his eyes open when he saw me pointing a camera at him but very soon zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Babies Galore!

The transformation in the character of the Rock Squirrels over the years is quite remarkable. They have gone from creatures we rarely saw to being super cheeky. We currently have three young ones living under the bird feeders in the back garden and apart from being ridiculously cute, their antics and games keep me entertained for hours.

Bravery Award

As I posted recently, the Rock Squirrels in the yard are incredibly shy. Until recently there was no chance of getting a photo of them but gradually they are getting a little braver. This one likes to hop over the wall onto the back patio to pick up the spilt seed from under the bird feeders. Then he climbs onto the bird bath for a drink. If I sit really still he doesn't run off but one false move and 'poof' he's gone!

At Last!

 We have a wonderful selection of creatures on our land, some of which are more obliging about being photographed than others. One of the most reclusive are the surprisingly large Rock Squirrels. Usually our only view of them is a long fluffy tail disappearing into the distance. It has taken me three years to get a photo. Last weekend we had some chilly mornings and I looked out of the window to see this individual catching some morning sun perched on the fence. It stayed there just long enough to allow me to run and grab my camera and get off a couple of shots before he scurried off.