Rattlesnakes

I saw two Western Diamondback rattlesnakes so far this year.  The first snake (observed April 9th) is hard to see as it blends in with the creosote bush it was under.

This snake was full grown, a good four feet long.

The black and white section of the tail is the easiest part of the snake to see.

Today I saw a much smaller rattlesnake slowly crossing the road.

Much easier to see!

I didn't hear any rattling.

A short video:

The Nest

Thank you all for your good wishes and congrats for my daughter, son-in-law and new grandson in Massachusetts.  I enjoyed sharing the news of the happy event and it was awesome to receive comments from near and far, all around the world.

Now, back to the desert:

A mourning dove was sitting on a nest on cholla cactus.

Below, it looked like a king snake was trying to get to the nest.

But the snake wasn't moving.

Two days later, the snake was gone.  If you look carefully at the nest below, you can see a baby bird next to the dove.

The following day the young dove was alone in the nest. 

And now the nest is empty.
(You can click on the pictures to enlarge and click again to make even bigger. )