Tuesday, January 19, 2010

My World Tuesday - Desert Birds

Greetings from the Sonoran Desert! These are some pictures from my walk in the desert yesterday morning.

Cactus wren on barbed wire


Cactus wren on fishhook or barrel cactus


Cactus wren building a nest in chainfruit cholla cactus


Yes, we're having cloudy weather this week with the possibility of some much needed rain! This image of a saguaro cactus is naturally monochromatic. A couple of woodpeckers are perched near the top.


Zooming in on one of the Gila woodpeckers makes it easier to see.


Western bluebird in a mesquite tree


Bluebird feeding on desert mistletoe in mesquite tree


Gambel's quail like mistletoe too. A female enjoys the berries


while a male is on the ground looking full.


Hiding behind the prickly pear cactus, this little rascal is not a bird, but fun to watch anyway.
Harris' Antelope ground squirrel

To see what the world looks like in other areas, click on the icon below:

29 comments:

Ramakrishnan said...

Wonderful series of pics. Really fascinating stuff.

tom sullivan said...

Enjoyed seeing your little friends. Cactus Wrens seem to find my toes possibly appetizing; they sometimes come right up and peck them while I sit on a bench.

Regina said...

Amazing critters.
Beautiful shots Diane.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Great pictures, Diane. I hope you get the rain you need. The folks in CA are certainly getting it!!!!

Love your great bird pictures --since your birds out there are so different from ours.

That Western Bluebird is gorgeous!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

Icy BC said...

Beautiful bird photos Diane! And your squirrel is fantastic looking..co cute!

Johnny Nutcase said...

good stuff! I love the cactus wrens, cool little birds. Nice photos!

Anya said...

Wow!!
Diane very lovely critters
you have a great camera
so perfect and clear shots :-)

(@^.^@)

Gaelyn said...

The Cactus Wren sure likes things with spikes. ;-) Great shots on your walk.

Very gray here today and am hoping for the much needed and predicted rain, and maybe even snow which I could do without.

Martha Z said...

The cactus wren does appear to know how to deal with spikey things. Great bird shots.
It has been raining here, off and on, for the last several days. Hopefully it will make it to Tucson.

Unknown said...

Diane
Beautiful world with birds... love the squirrel too. Lovely pics.

JTG (Misalyn) said...

Beautiful critters and I assume Sonoran desert is a beautiful place with those different kinds of cacti.

I like the second photo. How wonderful the bird posed for you Diane. Perfect!

The squirrel is cute. I wonder how it feels like holding it in my hands.

rainfield61 said...

Yes, it is fun to watch, or to follow them occassionally.

Jen said...

Great captures of the desert birds Diane! and of course I love the squirrel at the end. :D
I've been looking at the forecast out there..not so sunny.

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful shots, Diane! I love the birds and the cactus. The cactus wren is cute!

Stephanie said...

Nice, nice, nice! I have always like to see the birds from your site. They always look cute and plump he, he...

Marites said...

Steph is right, those birds look plump and cute and i thought they'd be thin because of the desert. love your pics. My world entry is up too.

Loree said...

The birds are beautiful but the picture of the cactus against the grey sky is just breath-taking. Well done!

VioletSky said...

My first thought was how careful those wrens must be to not get stabbed by those sharp spikes!

Then, I thought, what a good photographer you are to have captured all these.

Thérèse said...

What a nice serie! And probably a lot of patience was required to capture these pictures!

Lindy said...

Really wonderful bird photos. That's the first I've seen a Gambel's quail in a tree, believe it or not. I always see them on the ground. That is definitely one puffed-up male quail!

Joanne Olivieri said...

Oh I love these photos and the bluebird is just precious. How exciting to see these beautiful little critters on your walks.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

The quail with the feather on top of his head is so cute Diane and of course I love the squirrel. They are such fun to watch.

Michael Aaron Hansen said...

Great photos and inspiring. I moved to Phoenix (from Chicago) recently and am starting to get into bird watching. I'll be taking a class in a couple of weeks down at South Mountain. Can't wait. I really love the cactus wrens and the gila woodpeckers.

DoanLegacy said...

Your wonderful post reminds me to look for different birds around my area.

Fantastic pictures!

Splendid Little Stars said...

beautiful photos! You captured all so wonderfully!

MsRay said...

It's wonderful that you were able to capture shots of birds of different colors.

Warren said...

Great shots, I really like your cactus wren pictures!

Ayie said...

I wanna keep those animals as pets! lol

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