Much like me, the dove returns to the same spot over and again — a comfy, solitary seat in the branches. It appears content, like its only wish was granted.
Category Archives: birds
Falcon
Falcon on the spire-like tip of a cypress. Same spot I saw it in a few months ago. Only now, enveloped by the wafting incense of California trees, like a morning fog.
Past middle age
I did not know: The Bird Man is a motorcyclist! Each day in his yard, pouring out fresh water for his feathered visitors, he hobbles to complete this daily task. And now, here he is, in usual T-shirt and sagging, beat-up denim, perched on the seat of a Harley — its engine choking and rumblingContinue reading “Past middle age”
A cypress’ second life (plus a fun finch fact)
There’s a dead cypress tree in our backyard — a diminished-looking thing that one might otherwise consider an eyesore if it were not for the fact that it attracts birds like a magnet. A couple of months ago, I spotted a northern flicker perched on one of the parched branches — pretty exciting, considering thisContinue reading “A cypress’ second life (plus a fun finch fact)”
Mini mockingbirds
Perch Report – Spring Valley, Nev. It’s no biggie to see Northern mockingbirds since they’re so common in Southern Nevada, but over the past few days, I’ve had the pleasure of watching an adult feed its three fledglings in my yard. It has been tirelessly zipping around each day in the hopes of finding insectsContinue reading “Mini mockingbirds”
Starlings make an appearance
European starlings have been harvesting the trove of black olives that grow in batches on nearly every branch of the tree out back. Normally, the olives merely fall to the ground and rot, so it’s nice to see the birds using them for sustenance. They take them and fly to the ground, where they shakeContinue reading “Starlings make an appearance”
The goings on at the ponds
The great egrets shunned the other waterfowl. The egrets were staying in Vegas as part of their winter migrational route. Like an ivy league clique, they stuck up their bills while congregating in a lush, green riparian grove, which made their white plumage all the more stunning — like fresh-fallen snow. And they knew it.Continue reading “The goings on at the ponds”
An uptick in butterflies
The butterfly was not a butterfly but two fallen leaves. I had been seeing butterflies a lot lately, and so I thought this was yet another encounter. Recently my local Cooperative Extension made an announcement on Facebook that there was an uptick in the insects’ numbers in the Las Vegas area. Now I wish IContinue reading “An uptick in butterflies”
Notes on grackles
Grackles engrossed in nonstop quibbles like tweens in a schoolyard. Their predatory clamber across tree bark, clawing like cats on carpet. Grackles and the way that they crow and cackle! Torpedoing from bush to rock to tree to fountain, dumpster-diving, whizzing past your head like P-140 bombers. Fluttering low like bats in Victorian homes, perchedContinue reading “Notes on grackles”
