Sonoran Desert Toad

Have a great day!

Hummingbirds

Last year we found a hummingbird nest in our backyard. Broad-billed hummingbirds used the same nest again this year.

Both eggs hatched this time.

But one day a baby was out of the nest and it turned up in the turtle's water dish! The baby bird was under the water with just its little beak and face sticking up out of the water.

I pulled the bird out of the water and placed it back on the nest. It looked okay. I went in the house and watched from the window as the parent tended to it right away. Both babies stayed in the nest three more days.

Last year I got this picture of a mother feeding her fledgling after it left the nest:

Have a great day!

Hummingbird Nest

Last month my husband discovered a hummingbird nest on an oleander bush that he was about to trim.

mother broad-billed hummingbird

The hummingbird had fastened the tiny nest onto a dried branch in a way that was hard to see, but once I knew where to look, I could view it from the kitchen window.

mother

Only one of two eggs hatched.

The baby grew quickly

baby hummingbird in nest

and was soon out of the nest.

baby

mother hummingbird feeding baby

Just in case the mother hummer wants to use the same nest again, we'll wait awhile before trimming the oleander bush.

Linking to Saturday's Critters at Viewing Nature with Eileen.

June Birds

Hello! Here are some backyard birds:

cardinals, roadrunner, house finch, house sparrows,
ash-throated flycatcher and Gambel's quail

The pair of cardinals usually visit the feeder at dawn and dusk when it's too dark for pictures, but this time I caught them on the chair at midday.

Linking with Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen.

Pretty Birds

Oriole

Verdin

Yard Birds - update

Recent snapshots

Cardinal parents

Cardinal fledgling on the ground

perching on a low branch

white-winged dove with twig

dove nest in mesquite tree

white-winged dove parent on nest

Lil Hummer growing more colorful

Lil Hummer

Baby Cardinals

Up in the oleander bushes, the nest is hard to see.

Here it is:

Arrow is pointing to parent's tail

Three baby cardinals in the nest!

Hungry!

The parents work hard getting food and feeding the youngsters.

Mrs. Cardinal at the feeder

Mr. Cardinal looking for bugs in the garden

Yesterday afternoon, one fledgling left the nest.

It landed on the ground below the oleander bushes.

And it was still there this morning.

Although it may not be very good at flying yet, the little cardinal has two attentive parents to care for it.

I suspect the cardinal couple has been living in our yard for about three years but this was the first time we saw their nest.  And now a different kind of nest is in our front yard which I will probably report on in a future blog post.  Have a nice week!

Backyard Birds

These are some of the more colorful visitors to my backyard this spring:

Lesser Goldfinch

Cardinal - male

Cardinal - female

House finches - red and orange

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Hooded Oriole

Lazuli Bunting

Finches, cardinals and hummers are regular visitors while orioles and buntings are rarely seen here.