Blog
Wrens
I met this cactus wren in the early light last Sunday after having just missed a picture the day before. If memory serves they were the first bird I saw on the trails after we moved here, they remind me so much of the boisterous little wren of the sloughs of the Pacific Northwest that I watched for many years, the marsh wren. More so in personality than appearance as they would dwarf my former friends if seen side-by-side, a bit unlikely as there is an even larger difference in the places they call home. The smile they always bring is the same though.
Her Pillow Game is Strong
Social Distancing Update
Trixie would like to point out that she can maintain social distance just fine, provided a sufficient number of pillows is available.
The Warmest Welcome
After a two month absence I made my return to the trails yesterday morning and the desert gave me a warm welcome in more ways than one as who was waiting to greet me but the ladder-backed woodpecker I photographed my last time out! Only this time instead of his favorite tree he was on a nearby saguaro whose arms were already blooming, dining headfirst from the giant blossoms of the giant cactus. And not just he but also his friends, as that morning and this on that one saguaro I also saw cactus wrens, curve-billed thrashers, a pair of gilded flickers, a male Gila woodpecker, and a pair of house finches.
The Teacher & the Student
Taken two minutes apart on Halloween of 2014, Ellie teaches Boo how to wait by the door so they can greet me when I come home from work (he was always eager to take her spot after she got up). Our first cat Templeton used to wait by the door for me, then Scout learned it from him, and Sam and Emma from Scout. But after Ellie arrived the cats learned to hold back a bit as her feet started dancing but she was looking at me and not at cats who might have wandered underfoot. Sam and Boo sometimes greet me at the door now but not with the consistency of the old days.
Isolation
From 2007, new arrivals Sam and Emma play in the guest bedroom while in isolation from Scout. I spent most of their introductory period with Scout since we were so tightly bonded but I’d relieve my wife at times and keep the youngsters company.
Black-throats
The other sparrow I see in large numbers here are black-throats. While the source of their name is unmistakable, like the white-crowns they also have white racing stripes running across their heads, presumably to make them faster as they zoom-zoom across the desert.
White-crowns
We had a variety of sparrows on display in Oregon but during the winter at my favorite refuge the big flocks I’d see were golden-crowns. I have lost count of the many ways the desert has surprised me but one was that here too I’d see flocks of sparrows in the winter, only now it’s white-crowns and black-throats. I saw white-crowns in Oregon but not nearly in the numbers I see them here, it’s such a joy to stand still as the sun rises and watch a flock flit about me as they make their morning rounds.
Phoebe on a Stick
The bony fingers of a saguaro skeleton provide the perfect perch to watch the sun set.
Boolie 