5 posts tagged “wildlife photography”

I typed up this post on Sunday morning and then my PC crashed and I lost it all so here goes again.   I haven't posted in awhile been too busy again.

On the 20th I did a photo walk with a Val friend I met on Flickr.  We have done photo walks twice before.  Once to the hundred acres next to me, and the other time at Catalina State Park.  Both time I really enjoyed taking photos with her.  She is a retired teacher and love to take photos.  I think she has a Nikon 40. 

This time we took photos around her neighborhood.  We got an early start around 6:30 am and took the streets and walking paths around her hood.  Most of the photos I took weren't really that good but I did enjoy our walk and her company.  Here is a link to her site on Flickr.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/81022945@N00/

Last Saturday, another friend from Flickr came to visit.  She brought her family to see the horses and cocca puff.  We had a nice breakfast of a home made coffee cake that she brought and some donuts that hubby got at the store.  Here is a link to her site on Flickr.  We so enjoyed meeting Linda and her family, what great kids she has...Oh and her hubby is a doll!  Here is a link to Linda's Flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lsdinaz/.  She lives near me so our photos of sunrises and sunsets are similar.

Last weekend I broke down and bought a used laptop and it was just what I wanted.  Now tonight it is not charging.  So I'll have to contact the seller and take it in for repair.  I got it on Craigs list but it has a 30 day parts and labor guarantee.  So one step forward and two back now.

My PC is just choaking on the huge files from my camera.  I needed a faster processer and more ram.  Oh well hope it can be fixed quickly.

I spend a lot of time on Sat. looking through the photos I've taken recently.  I sure was disappointed in what I saw.  My background weren't good, subjects too much in the center of the photo.  So  yesterday I took a few photos in the morning and I was more satisfied with the results.

I got a nice photo of a lizzard that I see all the time in my backyard.  It was hot and muggy and I think this slowed the lizzard down a little as he didn't run away as I was getting closer to get my photos.

 

Here is a photo of a cute rabbit that I caught before he hopped away.  We have cottentail rabbits all over our yard but they usually dont' stick around when we get close.

 

I took some photos of the quail and their babies but I didn't like any of them.  Maybe next weekend I can get some good photos of the quail.

Hope you have a great week! 

I've been taking photos of some baby doves in my back yard.  The doves were born on 6-30 and every day or so I take photos of them.  You should see the mother dove!  When I get up the ladder to take photos of her babies, she flys off the nest and then flops on the ground like she is injured to get us to follow her.  Now she is getting so used to us that we have to wave her off the nest.

This is her second batch of babies this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This nest is an old Thrasher nest and is at the top of a grape cholla about 5' tall.  Doves are terrible nest builders so this old nest is a great nest for these baby doves.

 

Now we have a Thrasher nest in the front yard.

 

Very nice nest and it is about 6" deep on the top of a Jumping Cholla maybe 5 1/2' tall.  Here is a photo of my ladder next to the Cholla.  These Chollas are the very worst of all and have nasty habits of reaching out and sticking you with their spines.  They make a great place for a bird nest as the nest is protected very well.

 

This morning two of the babies hatched. In the first photo yu can see the little birds neck to the left of the egg.

 

Here the head of the chick to the left is on top of the egg.  If you look closely you can see a crack in the egg.

This little guy can hardly hold up its head but the mouth is open!

I sure had fun this morning taking these photos!

My granddaughter is visiting us this week.  We were eating breakfast on Monday morning and I looked out the window and saw a bobcat strolling through the back yard.

Later that day I saw a coyote crossing our dirt road.  Tuesday morning we were getting in the car to drive to Chandler to visit my daughter and I saw a roadrunner under our big ironwood tree.  I quickly pulled my camera out of the back of the Rav and got a couple of good photos.  They are so fast that I've never gotten close enough to get a good photo.  Look at the bright colors by the eye.  This one was in the shade of the tree and had his wings out trying to stay cool.

 

Oh a feather out of place, I'll fix that!

 

When we returned from our trip  to chandler we were on the edge of a big rain storm.  As we drove into our drive way I saw a Harris Hawk on a dead cholla.  My camera was in the back of the Rav so I didn't get a photo.

When I was out feed the horse I saw this cute little bunny stretched out in the shade trying to stay cool.

 

 

This afternoon I went out to put a steak on the BBQ and saw a young buck bounding through the yard.  By the time I got my camera he left.  This was the first deer I've ever seen on our property.  I've seen them crossing the main road and I've seen them when I was ridding my horse...darn no photos to prove it.  We did find deer prints though.  Oh hubby saw the deer too.  I have a witness.

Tonight there was another big rattlesnake track in the back yard.  They are all very close together.  I sure wish this one would go away!

Anyway this week at home has sure been fulled with a lot of animals. 

Here are some more photos I took this morning of the baby doves.  First photo the youngest and nearest baby dove is in focus.  Check out the photos in the larger size as I'm not sure if their eyes are really developed yet.  You can see the feather are a little more fluffed out but still not too many feather yet.

In this photo the oldest and furtherest away baby dove is in focus.

 

I think it was 105 or so today and the little mother dove was sitting on these guys.  You would think it would be too hot for them.  I do keep water in the bird bath for her.  Maybe I should be setting up a misting system for her...lol

Here is a photo I took this weekend of Mrs. Cardinal.  I spent a long time this weekend trying to get a photo of the cardinals that come to our back yard each day.  Well Mr. Cardinal was way too leary of me and never sat still long enough for his photo.  But I got this one of Mrs. Cardianl peeking at me from the safety of the palo verde tree.