May 31, 2012

May 31, 2012

Mama and baby silhouette - unsure what kind of bird

May 30, 2012 The Verdin Story Continued

May 30, 2012

Mama Verdin calling her baby home. The baby had a lot of hit and misses, and it took a good 45 minutes and a lot of patience on Mamas behalf, but the baby finally got into the nest.

May 30, 2012 Verdin

This spring a sweet couple of Verdin made a nest in one of my planters. It is what sparked my photographing of the birds. It was while I was outside photographing the verdin that one of the parrots landed in my tree. My frist thought was that they had flown away from someone. I had no idea at the time that Lovebirds had been living and flourishing in Arizona since the late 80's. They day before I had seen a bright yellow bird, but just a flash, and had thought that was also someone's pet. Needless to say once I discovered they were living here wild..i went on a search for them. Once I found where they were nesting (which was very close to my home) I put out feeders. Slowly they came. each day a few more. This morning (6-8-12) we had 16+. That was my best count. They move so fast around they are hard to keep count. Each day I discover something new with them.

Back to the verdin...

This little couple are amazing. Not fearful of humans, we got to watch them raise their babies. From the time they hatched (we could hear their little crys in the nest) to their first flight we have got to watch them grow. Each night, after they left the nest, the parents would call them back... flying to the babies to the nest, and back and forth for sometimes an hour just to get one little guy back to the nest.

Here are the photographs..

5-21-12 learning to fly.. kept coming back to this window right next to the nest

5-22-12 This guy hit a window while trying to learn to fly...he is okay though.. he was just a little stunned.

The nest half way built.

Feeding time 5-14-12

5-15-12 see the little orange open mouths...they are so so tiny.

Parent Verdin - they are about the size of a hummingbird

5-25-12 another picture of adult verdin

5-27-12 Baby Verdin - the Verdin lay two nestings close to eachother..so they have babies of different age

5-27-12 baby verdin coming home for the night

WILL ADD MORE TO THIS AS I FIND THE PHOTOGRAPHS.

May 29, 2012

May 29, 2012

Gila Woodpecker - blurry as taken through window..this guy is really shy and hard to photograph

House Finch

Juliet birdwatching

Lovebird

Lovebirds evening meal

May 28, 2012

Photographs Taken May 28, 2012

Juliet sleeping...tired from bird watching.

Mallards at Park

 

Male & Female Mallards

Hummingbird

Gila Woodpecker

May 27, 2012 Variety of Birds

Photographs taken on May 27, 2012

Baby Verdin

Baby Verdin

Mallard at Park

Verdin showing babies the way home.

Pigeons fighting over rock at park.

Pigeons fighting over rock at park.

Verdin

May 26, 2012 Baby Birds Feeding

Dinner Time!
Photographs taken on May 26, 2012

May 22, 2012

May 22, 2012 After seeing the parrots in my yard.  I went to the park to see if I could find them. I was about to give up when I saw this little guy along the shore of the creek that runs through the park, swooping down for a drink of water.

Love Bird in creek at park

Lovebird on edge of creek

Mallards in Creek at park

I believe this is a Blue Heron - he was fishing when I saw him.

May 21 2012 First Lovebird sighting

These photographs aren't very good. I am including them because these were the first photographs of them I have. I was in my yard taking pictures of the Verdin when one flew into my nest I followed them over to this palm tree in the alley.