Birds of a Feather

We've had lots of company here in Arizona these past two months, which has made life interesting and fun and busy.  During our quiet times though Lloyd and I have enjoyed peaceful mornings relaxing in the back yard while being entertained by the multitude of birds who make their homes in our trees and cacti.  The air is always full of birdsong and someday I'd like to be able to identify the birds by their songs.

For the first time since we've been coming here we've been visited by a pair of Gambel's quail...so fun to watch them as they scurry through the yard on their way to somewhere else.  I love their distinctive little black topknots.

Lots of hummingbirds visit our yard.  There's always something in bloom that attracts their attention.

I'm not sure whether or not this is a hummingbird or another
small bird.  He/she built a nest between the spines on our
toothpick cactus.

This hummingbird was very cooperative and perched on the
ocatilla long enough for me to take several pictures of him.

We hear and see the Gila Woodpeckers a lot.  They have pecked sizable holes in two of our saguaro cactus and lay their eggs inside them.  They've also been pecking holes in one of our large palm trees.  Aside from the knocking sound, they have a very nice voice.

There are other birds around that I've been unable to identify.  I think this is a mockingbird.  There are a lot of them around and they make a wide variety of sounds.  I took this picture outside the Heard Museum in downtown Phoenix, but we have lots of them around our neighborhood.

I think this one is a cactus wren.

 and maybe this one is too.

The mourning doves are the first ones we hear in the morning.  They have a lovely soft cooing voice.

We were so excited the other day when a roadrunner scurried across the road in front of us as we were driving down a busy road at the edge of town.  The first one we've seen.  Of course I didn't have my camera ready, and he was too fast anyway, so this picture is from a Birds of Arizona website.

This is another bird I've had a hard time identifying but I've seen him/her in the yard several times.

There's nothing quite as peaceful as sitting out by the pool in the morning listening to all the birds.  I think I'll go out there now and relax.

Have a lovely day today.