Sunday Sightings 7-14-13

The Brown-crested Flycatcher was calling again this morning from outside our bedroom window.   Another early bird at our feeders was an adult male Pyrrhuloxia, the bright yellow bill and accented with deep reds and grays making for quite a picture... except for the factor of the  window's glare from the early morning sun.     Scout had made a discovery of his own in the kitchen, batting the shades in a futile attempt to scare a spiny lizard on the ledge.  I believe it may be
the Twin-Spotted variety due to the wedge-shaped collar but I'm still a novice could be misnaming a Desert Spiny variety. 




Kino was really excited about his morning walk so we went for a quick one since it was already mid morning.   A sharp "pic!" from our neighbor's mesquite as I strained to see the infrequent Ladder-backed Woodpecker which had paid a visit to our cul de sac.    A Turkey Vulture was already enjoying the thermals in our neighborhood, cruising for unlucky victims of the heat.   It is almost time for post nesting dispersion of Zone-tailed Hawks, which look very similar in wing pattern, but have striped tails. 



Later that afternoon I was able to capture a probable Twin-spotted Lizard coming out from the crevices in our stone wall.   The stone walls in our back yard  really provide nice homes for our lizards and other animals, and has attracted Rock and House wrens in winter, searching for bugs in the crevices.   It also functions as a water harvesting technique, preventing precious water from running off the property, so it can sink down and saturate our soil for our desert plants. 

Kino and I finished the evening by walking a few laps on the lawn by the pond as we listened to the "oinking," of Northern Rough-winged Swallows.  Under the cover of the night ghostly shadows of Lesser Nighthawks swept over the lawn close to knee level, no doubt taking advantage of the mosquitoes hounding our legs.  As we neared the house it was comforting to see a nighthawk using our property as well for its aerial feeding grounds.  Thank you for appreciating our neighborhood desert wildlife.