Peep!

People often ask me why I don't remove dead tree limbs and my answer is simple, they will fall when they are good and ready and provided they as not going to crash down and damage something I would far rather they stay were they are because they provide all kinds of food for numerous species. It would seem that the Ladder-backed Woodpeckers agree with me.

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.

Winter Sunlight

We get so used to the strong, full sun in the desert that when the angle of the sun shifts in the winter it sheds a whole new light (forgive the pun) onto things we see every day. Everything becomes a little more softly lit and because the sun is so low in the sky the shadows are all different. I love it.

Pretty in Pink

There are many birds who are such regular visitors that they tend to get overlooked. In my yard, the top of this list would have to be the House Finches. They are a constant presence and their sweet little chatter as they squabble over the feeders lets me know I am home. And yet they rarely appear on this blog but as you can see from this photo, it is not because they are not photogenic. So my appologies House Finches, I promise to try to do better.

What You Lookin' At?

There have been a lot of discussions recently about the lack of Cactus Wrens around. Well I am happy to report that is not the case for me. They are most definitely around in good numbers and as loud, obstreperous, fierce, opinionated, cheeky, pushy and utterly irresistible as ever!

A Christmas Surprise

You know the scenario, it is a couple of days before Christmas, there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done and you wake up with 'to do' lists whirring through your head. As always I stepped outside for a moment of serenity before the day got underway but because I was preoccupied I wasn't paying as close attention as I normally do. I stood quietly letting the cool morning air soothe me as I watched the sun slowly appear over the mountains. Birds were stirring all around, the usual suspects, but wait, what is that big flock in the mesquite? Cedar Waxwings? Really? Yes, really, and here I am without my camera. Of course by the time I had come to my senses, run inside, grabbed my camera and got back outside most of them had moved on. The few that did remain were up on the very unphotogenic electric cable with the sun behind them so appologies for the bad photo. But at least I got proof of another new yard species.

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. 

The Best of 2014

So the Christmas madness is over and we are setting off on another new year. That means it is time to wrap up the best of 2014. As usual I couldn't possibly choose one representative for each category but I think that is indicative of another amazing year of wildlife sightings.

For once I am going to start off with the mammals. We had a couple of new surprises this year, a Gray Fox which I don't yet have a clear photo of and a Badger! Captured by one of our wildlife cameras. What a lovely and unexpected treat.



We know we have Bobcats passing through regularly as they are frequently caught on the wildlife cameras but it was a rare treat when this youngster paid a visit in the middle of the afternoon to hunt birds around the feeders.



The Javalinas visit almost nightly but these two images appealed to me. Is this guy smiling for the camera or what?

Ans as for this little pip-squeak! ADORABLE!!!

We have been very lucky this year to have some big bucks calling our land home. They really are majestic.

 

I introduced the sky category last year because, well how can you not? Every day offers a jaw-dropping moment at some point.
 

The invertebrate section has a sole representative this year, For no other reason than, it's super cool! The Tailless Whipscorpion.

The other category with a single winner is the fungus group. We had some good rains this year and one of the things that appeared as a result was Slime Mould. It can best be described as looking remarkably like scoops of vanilla ice cream scattered about, quite bizarre.

In the plant group we had a new arrival, again as a result of the good rains. The Desert Unicorn Plant exists as a tuber underground until it collects enough moisture then is shoots out thick, squash like leaves and yellow flowers which produce these wonderful pods that give the plant its name.
 

Many people clear cholla plants from their land and when I get spiked by one I can kind of understand why. But I only have to remind myself how vital they are to Cactus Wrens and Thrashers and the pain seems totally worth while. Quite apart from the fact, they have lovely flowers.

 We have some nice new representatives for the bird category this year. Not least of which is this little Lucy's Warbler with a very big voice. If there were any ladies within several miles, they couldn't have failed to notice his enthusiastic song.

I was very happy to see that the Ladderback Woodpeckers have been much more in evidence this year, enjoying the various feeders as well as the natural food sources.



The next entrant in this category appeared right at the beginning of the year and gave me hours of delight as he snoozed the days away.



The last two representatives in this group are both species that I knew were around but had never managed to get a photo of until now. The Lesser Nighthawk is so cryptically coloured I am not too surprised that I had missed it up until now.



And the Rock Wren was my nemesis, always managing to appear when I didn't have my camera. At last, my patience was rewarded.



The amphibian section is represented by an old favourite who appeared shortly after we installed a small pond which seemed to meet with his approval. The Sonoran Desert Toad otherwise known as the handsome prince.



It was rather a banner year for the reptile group as we were honoured to be visited by not one but two Gila Monsters.





We had two new additions to our snake list, the Black-necked Garter Snake and this very handsome Kingsnake who decided to take a dip in our pool.

We were very lucky to have numerous rattlesnake sightings throughout the year, all of which were entirely peaceful, this was my favourite shot.

 So there it is, 2014 highlights complete. I am looking forward to the next year of new arrivals and repeat visitors. Nature never fails to delight, who knows what she will offer up for us next.

Not As Bad As It Looks

This is a tailless whip scorpion and despite its name, it is not going to do you any harm. If you mess with it, the worst it can do is pinch you with those spiky pedipalps. It belongs to an order of invertebrates called amblypigids which means 'blunt rump.' Rather personal I would say but it is merely to highlight the lack of tail.

My Outdoor Cat

I don't have a cat, don't want to keep an animal permanently indoors and I certainly don't want to deal with the carnage it would cause on the local species if I let it outside so I'll 'make do' with the natural equivalent! I love the fact that we have a healthy balance of predators and prey on our land and what is not to love about this beautiful young bobcat?

Ethereal Beauty

I took this photo a few weeks ago, not sure how I missed posting it but better late than never. The many scars from countless impacts on the moons surface are so clear.

Yes, It's Another Sunset Shot

I never tire of watching the ever changing desert skies and when it puts on displays like this, is it any surprise?

Feathers

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

Safe Harbour

Hunting season is in full swing around us, so nature adapts. The first big buck with a full rack appeared on my neighbours land so, by my own rules for this blog, I couldn't include it. However a few days later they started hanging out on our land, safe in the knowledge that they would not be harassed or shot at.

They spend their days sleeping in the shade of a mesquite tree and then in the evening they browse on the prickly pear fruit and the barrel cactus fruit. Stay as long as you like guys, it is great to have you around.

How Do They Do That?

You can't follow this blog without realising I love cactii. I suppose in all honesty it is a bit of a love hate thing because it really doesn't matter how careful you are when doing yard work, sooner or later you will get spiked, stabbed or pierced. But hey, that is what tweezers were invented for right? One of the things I love most about these armoured beauties is their ability to grow in the most impossible of places. Like this one, a pile of rocks with a teaspoon of soil (and when I say soil, that is a pretty generous term, I am sure gardeners in most other places would consider our soil to be one step removed from building rubble!) and yet here is this Barrel Cactus flourishing.

Nemesis No More

I have known there are Rock Wrens around the yard for a while now but my goodness are they elusive! Well I finally caught one foraging around amongst some rocks (surprise, surprise!) and after having taken several shots of a blurred blob hopping out of frame I finally got a couple of decent shots. Very satisfying.

Did You See This?

My husband had strolled up and down this particular path in our yard a couple of times before I got to it on this particular day. People sometimes ask, how did you see that? and when it comes to sleeping snakes it is usually not so much a case of seeing the snake exactly, more like seeing something is different. So when I came to walk up the path, I noticed an unusually brown rock on the border. Oh hello! Did you see this? What? I won't tell you what my husband said when I pointed it out but I bet you can guess!

This little beauty stayed put all day, even when a couple of quail almost tripped over it and didn't slide off until after dark when a second rattler cruised past. I am thinking these will probably be the last two snakes I will see for the season.

New Moon and Saguaro

The desert landscape never fails to impress. Can you see the tiny new moon?

Hello Kitty

I watched this beautiful young Bobcat outside my bedroom window, carefully stalking birds under the feeders. Unfortunately it didn't get a meal, from it's lean physique its looks as though it needed one. Better luck next time little one.

Cool Down.

The debate continues as to whether this is a Coopers or a Sharp-shinned Hawk that frequents the trees outside my kitchen window but either way it is a beautiful creature. I was lucky enough to catch it cooling down the other morning - perfect photo op.