Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Purple Martins









Yes, we have Purple Martins in the desert!  Instead of nesting in man-made bird houses or gourds, here they use cavities in saguaro cactus made by woodpeckers. Martins are active chatty birds, fun to watch and cute!

35 comments:

Rohrerbot said...

Wow!!! I had no idea. Beautiful birds and great pics!!

•°°• IcyBC •°°• said...

Whoa..beautiful capture, and beautiful birds, Diane!

Rohrerbot said...

I forgot to mention. We have one that comes every year and hangs out in our oak trees. I chatters up a storm until it finds a mate and that's usually right before monsoon:) I love their chatter.

angryparsnip said...

Great photos, the seventh one especially.... all I could think was "feed me !
I am seeing so many bird at my home in the morning. I think because it has been so dry, I don't feed them, but they love my fountain and the wet grass in the morning looking for bugs....

cheers, parsnip

Dawn said...

That's incredible!
(If I tried to land on a cactus...;)
Love these pictures. And I am actually surprised you have these birds- neato!

Unknown said...

They are so at home on the big prickly! Delightful!

Julie said...

Oh my gosh...what neat photos!!! I just always find it amazing that anything would want to live in a saguaro!!!

betchai said...

oh, love love all your shots, amazing how you are always there to capture them.

betchai said...

ps...what a joy it must be to always be gifted by these sights in your side of the world.

shirley said...

Amazing photos i love watching the mother birds feeding the babies in the nest. These are just gorgeous.

cieldequimper said...

Yes very cute, I just love that wide open beak!

PJ van Zyl said...

always enjoy your blog

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

What a beautiful photos!

Allison said...

They're so beautiful! But ouch on all those pricklies! :)

Betty Manousos said...

those are beyond beautiful!

betty xx

siga said...

Reading your blog is like listening the stories birds are telling :) It makes me wish to learn birdwatching, not less!

Gaelyn said...

Not a bad place to take up residency.

Thérèse said...

I still have a lot to learn about birds and here is the perfect place to learn. Great pics! The only thing frustating about saguaros you hear rumble inside quite often but you don't see anything...

tom sullivan said...

Haven't seen any yet; now I'll be on the look-out! Thanks!

Prospero said...

Diane, the first shot is irremediably splendorous (not that one should ever want to be cured of splendor).

Magpie said...

How wonderful! Do they flit around like swallows? I've been seeing something that's too fast to get a good look at lately.

EG CameraGirl said...

I especially like the photo of the adult bird feeding the baby, Very sweet.

Clytie said...

I love these pictures, though my favorite is the baby bird being fed. What gorgeous birds - I love it that they nest in the cactus!

Debbie Lo said...

They look so soft, especially their heads, and when the sun shines on them, they DO look purple! I didn't even know purple birds existed, but now I can tell my friends, "I've seen a purple bird!" LOL

Wonderful photos, Diane, as always. :-)

Have a nice week!

Barb said...

It was fun seeing the Martins in their high-rise!

Stephanie said...

So nice the birds feed each other. Wonderful shot :-D

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

Beautiful and interesting bird!

Elettra said...

great shots !!!!!!!!!! Congratulations !!!!!!!!

DoanLegacy said...

What beautiful birds! The color is fantastic..

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

I liked the capture in the first photo very much...

Tes said...

There's so much to see in your world, Diane! What a joy to see those feathered friends! The little ones are cute! :)

Carlos said...

Muy buena serie de fotografías.
Un buen reportaje sobre el comportamiento de esos pájaros.

Me gustó.

Un abrazo.

Janie said...

I assosiate purple martins with water. How interesting to see them thriving in the desert!

Lindy said...

I had no clue they came to the desert. They do like those "high-rise" homes! =) I'll be monitoring our neighbor's saguaro the next time we're back that way.

Brenda's Arizona said...

I had no idea! Something new to look for.