Hummingbirds Galore!

The hummingbirds have arrived! All Summer, we have had a handful of beautiful Anna's Hummingbirds guarding our 2 feeders and visiting our flowers. This past week, our population has grown to about 30!! Also, we now have 5 feeders to accommodate our growing visitors.

 Besides the common Anna's hummers, we have a couple of migrating Black-chinned and Rufous Hummingbirds that are quite determined to be "top dog" while they are in town.

Our neighbor gave us a hand held feeder to try out. What an amazing experience to feel the delicate feet on your finger and to feel the strong wind current from their mighty wingbeats!! Before landing, they come right up to your face with their impressive beaks deciding if they want to accept your offering. It's quite intimidating when these long pointed beaks are within inches of your eyes!!!

Our friend, Kurt, in Palm Desert still tops this with the 50 plus Costa's Hummingbirds that hung out at his house but it sure is the most hummers that we have ever had visiting us! With this many birds, the feeders get washed and refilled a couple of times a day! I assume they are all fattening up getting ready for their journey south within the next week or so. It's an honor to have them take residence with us for a short time before their big journey.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Hawks in Garner Valley

In the Spring, someone asked me where all the Red-tailed Hawks had gone to. They are still around. In fact, we've seen quite a few of them the last few days down in Garner Valley.

 We saw 2 Red-shouldered, 4 Red-tailed and a Cooper's Hawk all in one day on Apple Canyon Road.

By far, the most memorable is this Red-tailed Hawk. We found it perched on a boulder with lunch secured between its talons.

We had hoped to identify what kind of snake it was devouring. Perhaps, it would leave a morsel behind for identification. Wrong! It ate every bit of the snake. The last piece was swallowed like a piece of spaghetti.

Besides the impressive hawks, we found some other neat birds. Three young Western Kingbirds were huddled together on a branch quietly awaiting the return of one of their parents with tasty morsels to share. Perhaps, they sensed danger was lurking in the skies nearby.

It's always fun when you can actually see a bird catch an insect. This is one of my favorite Summer birds - the Ash-throated Flycatcher. It won't be around much longer either.

Cool insect of the day goes to this Tarantula Hawk Wasp. Most species of hawk wasps have black antennae but as you can see, this one has orange antennae. The females are quite scary if you happen to be a spider. After paralyzing her victim, she drags it into a hole in the ground. When her eggs become larvae, they have a meal to consume. Yikes!

Finally, all of us who inhabit the mountains are grateful for 3 days of drizzle this past week. This is something to celebrate since our previous precipitation was 3 months ago. If you get rain regularly, enjoy it! It is a rarity in many parts of the world.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts

Mini Mountain Oasis

A desert oasis with palm trees and water is a  magnet for migrating birds. During migration, you never know who may show up....

I'm hoping my new cobalt blue bird bath and dripper will become a mini mountain oasis for the migrants this year. After placing this inviting dish in our yard, birds eyed it suspiciously. Some did "flybys" but no one partaked. We had a bet which brave bird would be the first to actually drink. I thought it would be the Mountain Chickadee.

The Steller's Jay was the first to drink the water but it gathered drops that fell UNDER the dish from the safety of the ground.

The Lesser Goldfinch was the first to actually land on the dish and drink.

One preferred going straight to the source.

While those birds drank, others were enjoying the seeds from a White Sage that had stopped blooming. Sure is great to see birds go to native plants that you put into the ground!

Our mini mountain oasis is becoming a reality. A pair of beautiful Bulloch's Orioles showed up quite unexpectedly.They have never visited our yard ! They are in our mountains for summer breeding and then, they head south for the winter. I wonder what other winged visitors will be passing through....I'll let you know! Migration will be starting soon.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Hiking in the High Country

Hiking in the high country in the San Jacinto Wilderness this summer is a new experience for me.

The last 4-5 years of drought kept this little creek from flowing in the summer. This year, however, the winter snow pack has enabled this life sustaining creek to exist.

Mountain Monkeyflower

 The creek is now lined with delicate wildflowers. Some are familiar but others are new.

Yarrow

Ranger's Buttons

Lemon Lilies

On my most recent hike, I did see a few of our returning Summer breeders. The most spectacular, in my opinion, is the Western Tanager!

The ground foraging Green-tailed Towee may not be as colorful but he has quite a voice!

Finally, our beautiful resident, the Western Bluebird was a welcome sight. I saw lots of different species of chicks out of the nest following their parents around "learning the ropes".

 Imagine not having precipitation since early May. Hard to imagine, isn't it? I splurged on a new bird bath and dripper for our feathered visitors. I planted it in the ground today. So far, the birds are eyeing it suspiciously. I'm hoping it will become a "hotspot", an oasis in the moutains...stay tuned!

Click on photos to enlarge.
Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Land of Pink Jeeps and Red Rocks

If this Pink Jeep looks familiar, you also know where the rocks are red - Sedona, Arizona.

There is a magnetism that emanates from these rocks! Just like the majority of people who first arrive in this town, I had to pull over on the side of the road as soon as these monoliths came into view. They are so unfamiliar! It felt like I entered a new country or a classic western cowboy movie.

It's ideal to be here numerous days so you have a chance to experience the light magnifying the red hues on the rocks as the sun rises and sets.

 The most prominent rock formations have names like Snoopy, Bell Rock, Elephant, Cathedral, etc. Naming rocks with familiar shapes is a great idea. I do the same thing for boulders I encounter on our trails. It's fun and gives the trail a unique trait.

 The Pink Jeep tours are probably exciting but hiking with a pal looking for wildlife and unique plants is a lot more rewarding in my opinion.

Tlaquepaque, a Mexican style village, in the center of downtown is a great place for finding unique gifts and food, listening to music or just hanging out.

We went for this amazing Flamenco group! They performed under the stars in this special market.

Sedona is a short distance from Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. No wonder people love to visit Sedona. We discovered a fantastic Hopi festival. These dancers are keeping their ancient traditions alive. There were so many talented artists at this festival!

Being so close to the Grand Canyon, we had to visit! What a magnificent place on Earth! One day, I hope to hike down into the canyon. We were like the majority of visitors on our trip this day....admiring the view from the edge.

I end this blog with this Long-horned Beetle that I discovered on the way home from this beautiful state. When I spotted this cool looking insect at one of the rest stops, I dashed back to the car to grab my camera so I could "capture" it. Look at those antennae! Wow!

 Mary DeDecker (1909-2000), a pioneer self-taught botanist living in Independence was famous for saying...

"Oh, just let's go around the next corner to see what we can find."

No wonder she found a lot of rare plants! She probably found a lot of other cool stuff along the way.
Hope you are enjoying the outdoors this Summer!


Click on photos to enlarge, click on video to watch some great music!
Photos and content by Robin Roberts