Cuteness Overload!

As if the Round-tailed Ground Squirrels weren't cute enough, their babies are just off the charts! Especially when the sun shines through their fuzzy little tails!

Caught The 'Whip

I have to believe this is the elusive Coachwhip snake. They come in numerous colour morphs and are notoriously fast. The only reason I got these two shots was that I had a big zoom and could stand half way down the drive while the snake peeped out from under the front stoop. They are odd looking creatures, very slender with a small head and when he finally decided that I was a problem he scooted off so quickly!

Feed Me!

This fledgling Cactus Wren was driving its parents crazy. Every time one of them flew in to one of the feeders it would ambush them and harangue them until they relinquished a beak full of food. Children eh?

Textures

Unless they happen to be obligingly coiled up in a neat circle, trying to photograph an entire snake is pretty tricky, usually you end up with a 'distant stick'. But I think that the beauty is in the details and so I often take close-up shots to highlight the patterns and scales. The two Gopher Snakes that frequent our patio make great models.

Someone Has Painted On The Sky!

Sometimes the desert skies defy description, way over the top!

Pointed Perfection - Part Two

Well I did warn you in the previous post that I couldn't resist taking photos of Horned Lizards but just look at that face. It demands to be photographed! This particular individual was very focused on hoovering up ants so he was probably giving me the hard stare for disturbing his meal if the truth be told.

Pointed Perfection - Part One

All the creatures on our land make me happy but inevitably there are a few favourites. High up on the favourite list has to be the Horned Lizards. They don't appear very often or, more correctly, I don't see them very often! So when I do see them I am invariably delighted and take far too many pictures. How could I not?

Siesta Time

I love discovering a sleeping Nighthawk hunkered down during the heat of the day in a shady spot. Their cryptic colouration is so perfect, just a feathered rock snoozing away!

A Regal Year

King Snakes are usually a rare sighting on our land but this year we are virtually tripping over them. I wonder how this will effect the populations of other snake species we usually see more regularly. Hopefully they won't all disappear.

A Regular Favourite

The Antelope Ground Squirrels make a very good living from the seeds that fall from the bird feeders and yes, I'll be honest I usually 'spill' a little for them too. How can I resist those stuffed little cheeks?

More Residents Of The Saguaro

Mature saguaros are regular apartment blocks for native species. One of the major excavators are the Gila Woodpeckers. They create cavities in the saguaro which other, less efficient tunnelers can then use too.

I managed to catch a shift change with this pair, the female came in with a juicy green caterpillar and relieved the male of his babysitting duties.

What Makes Me Happy

A tiny little rattlesnake trundling across the driveway, barely bigger than a twelve inch ruler would probably upset a lot of people but it makes me come over all warm and fuzzy.

I love little baby animals and just because they happen to be dangerously venomous, I don't discriminate.

I just hope this sweet little fellow manages to avoid the king snakes. I also hope that it chooses to stay on our land as many of my neighbours kill all snakes indiscriminately. Which is a shame because they are such a vital part of a healthy ecosystem.

Quite apart from the fact, he is such a tiny little thing, he deserves to be left in peace to live.

The Promise Of Things To Come

We have had so many blossoms on so many of the plants in our yard this year and now it is the turn of the king of them all. The mighty saguaro hints at it's moment of magnificence.

Where The Food Goes

As you saw in my previous post, our resident Kestrel pair are busy catching food for their young. I wanted to try to get a shot of the food being delivered.

I thought I had missed the adult slipping in to feed their young until I zoomed in on the shot.

And then I saw the undertail inside the cavity, maybe I didn't quite miss the shot afetr all!

Dinner Is Served - Again

I am beginning to wonder if we will have any lizards left at all with the prodigious rate that our resident Kestrel pair are catching them to feed their  young. It seems that every time I turn around one or other of them is on top of a saguaro with their latest catch.

Another One For The List

This sweet little character almost drove me crazy, flitting about in the densest vegetation always avoiding my camera lens. I knew I had spotted a new yard species but trying to get a photo was a whole other question. It certainly won't win any prizes but I can at least say - I gotcha!

Home, Sweet Home

We have had so many nesting birds on our property this spring it has sometimes felt like trespassing just  to set foot outside. While I try very hard not to upset any of the protective parents or disturb any of the vulnerable chicks I do have to be able to get my chores done. A pair of Cactus Wrens chose this Teddy Bear Cholla to construct a nest in, great choice, very well protected but did you have to chose one right next to the shed were I keep my dustbins? Now I feel as though I should wear a hard hat and a suit of armour every time I put the rubbish out! Really? I am not about to steal your babies, I promise!

Long Live The King!

If you follow my blog then you know that I love having snakes in my yard so it is always with very mixed feelings that I observe a visiting King Snake.

Why the contradiction you ask? Well the reason that King Snakes are so called is because they kill and eat other snakes, including venomous ones.

So while I love watching them making their sinuous way around my patio I sort of hope that they are just passing through and don't stay too long.

Although judging by the way this one made its way down a hole beneath one of our saguaros, I suspect that might be a vain hope.

But such is the way of a balanced ecosystem, there will always be the hunter and the hunted.

Palo Verde

This has been a wonderful spring for Palo Verde blossoms, at one point our entire property was a sea of gold.

The endless bounty of yellow blossoms has also kept the bees very busy. In the heat of the day all we could hear was the industrious pollen gatherers buzzing away everywhere.

Pretty Prickly

These two organisms are both pretty prickly, one by design and one in nature but teamed up together they look simply beautiful.