Day Old Javelina

The next "5" Star Photo is another Javelina. This time taken on it's birthday. The mother was squealing during the night before. The result was this little guy. He was barely six inches tall, and could hardly walk. 

Such a cutie!

Javelina Piglet

Javelina and Piglet

Back again to my series on "5" Star Photos. Still on Javelinas, this photo was taken just outside my office as a group of about 15 Javelinas came wandering though. Here a newborn "piglet" walking under the protection of his mother. Like many animals, the babies are adorable.

Javelina Mom with Piglet

Leucistic Mourning Dove

We have well over a hundred Mourning Doves on our property year round. They nest here from Mid-March through Mid-August. It's easy to find their nests. And, after 11 years here a rare event occurred yesterday while showing guests from Rhode Island around our property. A young Leucistic Mourning Dove (probably just out of its nest). Leucism is a rare condition similar to an albino condition that affects pigmentation. There are many abnormalities that affect coloration in birds (animals too). Sibley likes the idea of calling all of these conditions either "true albino" or "partial albino" which in a general sense is okay, even if not correct.

In any case, I did grab my camera and get a decent photo:

Leucistic Mourning Dove

I'll keep looking now to see if it stays around. Unfortunately, these birds seem to have shorter life spans if for no other reason than the fact that they get picked on by others.

But, no question, these abnormalities are fascinating, beautiful, and fun when you see them.

Cliff Chipmunk, What a Cutie!

One of the main differences in photographing animals versus birds is that with animals you rarely find them by their sound. It is almost always by movement or just sheer size. Birds are more often found by their sound which can be a problem if you are deaf or hearing impaired (like me). For me, finding a Moose is much easier than finding a Rufous Caped Warbler. 

Yesterday, I checked out Rose Canyon Lake and Incinerator Ridge on Mount Lemmon. Black Hawks had been reported at the lake (all summer). And at Incinerator Ridge I was hoping to find several of the Warbler species that had been reported in the past week. Five hours of searching netted me a couple Yellow Eyed Juncos, but not much more. No hawks, no warblers. Yet, the day wasn't a total loss. I did come up with a cute photo of a Cliff Chipmunk:

Cliff Chipmunk

Creekside Javelina

First, a Big Thank you to all of those who read my blog. It's pretty amazing. 106,000 views from 113 different countries around the world including every country from South America except Paraguay; 41 of the 50 countries in Europe; 29 countries in Asia; and 12 countries from Africa including:  Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zambia.

Now, back to my series on "5" Star Photos. Another "5" Star Javelina photo today. This one I especially like since it was taken somewhere other than our "backyard." I was wandering up and down the Patagonia Creek mainly looking for birds when I came across three Javelinas. This one I just happened to "catch" as he walked into a small "sunspot".

Javelina

No Screech Owl, but a Whistling Duck

Yesterday I headed out to Madera Canyon to find the Whiskered Screech Owl, Berylline Hummingbird, Lucifer Hummingbird, and Calliope Hummingbird all reported in the past couple of days. Four hours later without finding any of them I decided to head over to Empire Gulch at Las Cienegas to look for the Yellow Billed Cuckoos that have been reported there. Again no luck.

So, somewhat disappointed (it's hard to be too disappointed when you are out in nature), I drove the back road down to Highway 82 which would take me to Sonoita.  I took a few spurs looking for Pronghorn or, Black Tailed Prairie Dogs. To my joy, luck turned and I found a Black Tailed Prairie Dog. These little guys that roamed Arizona (and north to Saskatchewan) had all but disappeared in Arizona by the year 2000. However, with the help of the US Fish and Wildlife, they had been reintroduced to Arizona in general and Las Cienegas in particular. So, I was quite happy finding one. Here are a couple photos:

Black Tailed Prairie Dog (note the tip of the tail is black)

Black Tailed Prairie Dog calling to his friends

So, I was feeling pretty good for the day. But, as LUCK would have it, my day got even better. Five minutes later I checked out the little Cottonwood Pond which is tucked off behind a pea green pond. There I found a lone Black Bellied Whistling Duck. This is a rare bird to the US. It only finds its way into the southernmost tips of Arizona, Texas, and Louisiana. As the crow flies (well, I guess as the duck flies too) it was only about 30 miles from the US/Mexican border. This was a lucky find. However, even luckier was that he was posing on top of a rock right in front of the pond and let me get within 10 feet. The result was several photos any of which could be "5" Stars. I had to pick just one however. Here it is:

Black Bellied Whistling Duck

The Lovable Javelinas, or NOT

Next we come to the well-loved, or not so well-loved Javelina. Living in the Sonoran Desert means visits from one of its inhabitants, the Javelina or Collard Peccary. It is a pig-like animal weighing up to 60 pounds. So, we're not taking about a small animal here. We are also talking about an animal that usually arrives in large groups. The largest group we've had was 24. Many times we've had 15-20. Unfortunately, they like to eat  -------- anything. They've knocked over our garbage cans many times spreading garbage all over the property. I've tied our two large 96 gallon trash cans together but they still manage to knock them over. They also like to eat plants, especially the plants you just bought at a nursery. Yet, I have to concede that they were here first and are just trying to survive the desert. So, I can't get too upset. (There's nothing to do about it anyway, so why get upset?) This photo was taken near a tree that was on our sprinkler system. Oh yes, the Javelinas also like to eat through the watering hose to create a pool to play in.

Javelina