Do you think this is a Verdin?

Mesquite tree has had lots of visitors today :)

Loved the way this fellow was looking right at the camera

Don't know what this one is. Don't know lots/most of them!

My fault for not getting a better picture of this hummingbird. He isn't afraid and stays - rests on the brances quite often. I must have snapped 20 pictures of him & none came out good enough for an id :(
He's got a completely black head.

This Turkey Vulture wasn't in the mesquite tree, thank goodness, but was right across the street. They are so magnificent looking in flight- I love the two tone pattern to the underside of their huge wing span. Not one of my favorites on the ground but they do provide a service.

back to the Mesquite tree
one of my favorites is the black-throated sparrow. They stay all winter, along with the finches. They are brave and so sweet looking to me

a dove - one of the noisiest- these and the quail are very noisy visitors.

Here's a quail skedadaling. Kent is none to happy with them for eating most the leaves off the apricot tree which is right next to the mesquite. My fault! I wasn't thing when I made that part of the yard the wildlife section. Everything in the desert is so dry that I can't blame them for visiting the salad bar! It is quite a sight to see 7 or 8 quail sitting in the branches of an apricot tree all at the same time. Brings to mind ... 'and a partridge in a pear tree.' My peppermint can't keep up, the critters are eating it fast as it can grow and that is pretty fast!

I think you have a White winge Dove. They are very noisy.

.. Angele ..

Yes'ms, I'd hafta agree. That 1st pic .. is a Verdin!! He's such a purtee ..

The quail, is most adorable .. and they always give me a giggler to see 'em, altho' I've only seen them in pitters, doggone it ..

Is there a chance, that your black headed hummer, is a Black-chinned -?- Many of those we saw while out in NM last year .. appeared black headed; unless the sunlight (or the flash)caught 'em jes right .. or, they were displaying. The purple is so dark, it all blends together with the rest of their heads. (hee)

I wonder if you may can take a closer look at your Black-throated Sparrow. It seems he's got a bit of rufous coloration to him .. making him look a bit more like a House Sparrow.

From what I can 'tell' from reading & looking in my Sibleys Guide - the Black-throateds have a 'clean black & white head pattern' with a 'bold white eye brow' .. whereas the House sparrows have a distinct rufous nape, whitish cheek, and a broad white wing bar. And, the things are continent-wide, to boot .. except for the extreme northern areas!! But, I've gotta keep in mind .. that my eyesight is no where near to decent either ..

Keep 'em comin' kiddo .. Am enjoying all your wildlife, right along with ya!

((huggerooners))

- Magpye

Hello Trois & Magpye :)

Oh Magpye, but I love the name Black-throated sparrow!!!! Well, if I can call him Rufus (not rufous ... my lip is quivering now) LOL house sparrow it is!

I just love that I can leisurely (on my days off) have a cup or two of coffee and be visited by so many feathered friends. There is a medium sized plain brown bird that sings so beautifully and another one that makes an awful sound - the sparrows get upset each time it comes around. It has a speckled underside I think.
White-winged Dove.. that is one pretty name.

Another hummingbird

Magpye, you must have the BEST eyesight! All I could see on the bird you thought might be a black-chinned was a black head.. got another snapshot today and the sunshine hit him just right to show his purple gorget (had to look that up) The size is right too, he's mighty tiny!

(lol) Yep, the best possible: that is .. IF my spyballs are within inches of a page/pic in a book and folks present the largest size of images available to post, on DG and other websites. Otherwise, I've very little to moan, groan and beller about .. (heehee)

Ahhh, Angele .. he's captivatingly beautiful!! But I've got one minor lil complaint: Seeing your shots of him .. is not doing well for our knowing that we NEED to remain home - for our veggie gardening, this year!! You are not playin' fair, Angele! Jes a totally bad influence for me .. (jes luvinly teasin' you, kiddo!)

((huggerooners))

- Magpye

lol a siren's call to New Mexico. From the pictures I've seen of the 'Roost ' it would take dynamite to get me to budge from there!

The bird in the third pic is kingbird (type of flycatcher)... probably a western kingbird :)
( :>

Thanks Magpied!

Lol my heart sank when I first read your post - 5 minutes after getting out of bed & before coffee; in my grogginess I had forgotten I had posted other pictures in this thread and I thought my little verdin wasn't a verdin!

Coffee time!

It's definitely a Verdin. I saw several last month in Salton Sea, CA. Pretty bird.

Thanks birdmanct.... wish I could identify all the visitors to my area. It is harder than it looks but not as bad as those frustrating cacti! Good grief, you need dna samples for cacti. I take it from you DG name you love birds. :)

Thanks birdmanct.... wish I could identify all the visitors to my area. It is harder than it looks but not as bad as those frustrating cacti! Good grief, you need dna samples for cacti. I take it from your DG name you love birds. :)

I just came across this pic of a Verdin I took in Joshua Tree NP last month. I didn't know what it was, even though my list said I had seen one a couple of years ago. It took me a long time to find it [in the guidebook] because it's in a family that doesn't come East. If not for digital pix and Sibley....

Pretty little fellas :) Nice photo & setting
I was reading the reviews of Sibley's on Amazon and someone said the pictures are much smaller in the Western one. I will go with the complete one for at least that reason alone. I only see a soft-cover is yours a hard cover?

I'd wanted to inquire the same of birdmanct also, angele ..

The Sibley guides that I'd purchased last year .. (one each: for the Eastern & the Western regions of North America) .. are more of a 'card-board' material. Seem to hold up well enuff ..

- Magpye

Edited: to add .. that WalMart.com has quite a varied selection of books also. And, quite often .. has better pricing than Amazon.com, too!
Shipping costs are comparable .. depending upon how much you're spending also. I believe Amazon.com offers free shipping if the total is a certain amount, etc.

This message was edited Apr 22, 2006 3:14 PM

soft cover
glad you checked out the picture size; I agree with getting the complete guide in that case, tho it is a pain to carry.

Here's what the birds see from the desert my home is surrounded by. It is just one small section of my yard and is just outside the walled-in backyard. The birds don't know it but they are supposed to eat to their hearts content on their side... they came inside the gate and ate all the blanket flower & sunflower seed I planted, to borrow one of Magpye's words.... boogers!!

Nice! I love the desert. I LOVE the southwest. I lived in Santa Fe for a year, one of the best of my life. And I've never met a butte I didn't like.

I love New Mexico, been here over 20 years, moved from upstate NY where I had lived for 8 years. At first glance this area is one of the drabbest. I used to drive by on the Interstate and feel sorry for the folks who lived here! I used to live at higher altitude where it is greener; first in Silver City then Ruidoso then Bent. This area is mostly scrub brush: mesquite, creosote, ephedra, littleleaf sumac....

ahh, ephedra - good ole Mormon Tea. Any sage around??
one great thing about the desert is that you can fairly easily create an oasis that attracts and concentrates wildlife.
I also love the solitude; the quiet; the stars [ assuming you've keep light pollution down]; the clarity of the sky day and night; the aridity; the way plants survive on bare rock, like this shot in Joshua Tree NP


This message was edited Apr 23, 2006 11:48 PM

or find their way into the tiniest crack in the sand

or find food and water enough to survive, like this Black-throated Sparrow

yes my favorite sage is young: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/103493/index.html
it was abundant last year- not seeing to much of it this year but even in the drought there are some things blooming like feather dalea
Yes I live in a dark skies community, we took down a street light that was on our property, love the sky... day or night
last years photo of a yucca against our blue blue sky (old camera)

oh, I meant to say... I can see you have been enchanted too!

yes........................................yes.............................................