Open to All

I recently bought a hanging birdbath which I placed near some of my seed feeders outside my kitchen window. I wasn't sure if the birds would take to it but it seemed to meet with their approval rather quickly and has now become the avian equivalent of the water cooler.

One morning I looked out to see the birdbath was a lot fuller than usual but considerably less crowded..................

Pure Gold

The Lesser Goldfinches are one of the most common birds in our yard and yet I love them, they always make me smile. So much gold I feel very wealthy!

Feed Me!

We are surrounded by noisy fledglings at the moment, thrashers, cactus wrens, house finches and lesser goldfinches like this one. It is funny to watch the frazzled parents feed them and then turn their back as if they are trying to tune out the constant cheeping. I am still on the lookout for my first batch of baby quail.

Santa Likes Goldfinches!

One of my favourite things is watching the Lesser Goldfinches on their nyjer seed feeders. Compared to the other birds they are so polite, happily sharing the feeder, all feasting away in close proximity and not wasting precious energy chasing each other away.

So imagine my delight on Christmas morning when I discovered that Santa had given the Goldfinches an upgrade. Their feeder had been replaced by one twice as big!

Twice the feeders means twice the Goldfinches - perfect.

Monsoon Memories

In spite of one, most welcome, unseasonal deluge a couple of weeks ago we are now firmly in the grip of a toasty desert summer. I am not looking for sympathy, I love my desert home but sometimes when the thermometer threatens to go past the highest digit it is quite soothing to think of cooler, damper times.

For a desert in a typical year we get a relatively high annual rainfall, in fact almost the maximum amount (10 inches) allowed to still classify as a desert. Death Valley we are not! And like my previous home in Africa the build-up to the rains and the joy when they finally arrive is shared by all species.

The build-up can be cruel, weeks and weeks of dark clouds and rumbling thunder without a drop of rain falling but finally it gets to us.

This little guy sat on an agave throughout an entire heavy rain storm without moving, seeming to revel in the sensation. I was fascinated to see at the end of the storm his feathers were barely damp, the tiny drop on his beak is the only clue.

Not satisfied with just the raindrops, some beautiful Lesser Goldfinches found one of our downpipes and really went to town having a full-on shower!

So as we swelter and all the animals hide from the heat, we know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Or should that be rain at the end of the rainbow?

Nature Notes hosted by Michelle at Rambling Woods

The Watering Hole

In the desert can there be anything more important than a water source? Probably not. When we bought our house one of our first tasks was dismantling a rather unattractive fountain in our backyard, part of which I re-purposed as a bird bath.


It didn't take long for word to get out that there was a new bar in the neighbourhood and for all the local 'chicks' to start hanging out there! I think the Cactus Wren would be a punk rocker :)


Then there is a bit of local colour provided by the finches


An occasional visit from the impeccably groomed but rather shy White-crowned Sparrow


But you better keep on the right side of the local bouncer, he makes sure that no ones behaviour gets too rowdy!

Business is Brisk

At the feeders this morning

Desert Colours

Lesser Goldfinch and purple Santa Rita Prickly Pear cactus.

But

He's not the only one!