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I was hoping to photograph the Eclipse on August 27th, but we’d had rain, and clouds for a couple of days and on Eclipse day it wasn’t looking promising out here. I set up anyway hoping for a pocket or a hole in the clouds.
No luck. Skunked again. We did have a beautiful pink sunset that evening though so, it kind of made up for missing the Eclipse.
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The very first new to me bird that I saw while in Texas in April was the White-winged Dove. I’ve wanted to see one since I first heard Stevie Nicks sing On the Edge of Seventeen way back in the 80’s.
They are so much more colorful than I thought they’d be with their orange eyes, contrasting blue eye lore, and orange red legs and feet.
In the Sonoran Desert, nesting White-winged Doves eat mostly the nectar, pollen, fruit, and seeds of the saguaro cactus. They’re so dependent on the saguaro they time their migration and nesting to match its fruiting schedule. Saguaro seeds are the only small seeds that a White-winged Dove will bother with—possibly because they sit in a large, cup-shaped fruit that makes them easy to eat.
Like other doves and pigeons, White-winged Doves have some unusual abilities. They can suck and swallow water without moving their heads. And they use a secretion from the esophagus, known as crop milk, to feed nestlings. Both parents may consume snails and bone fragments to help their bodies create the nutritious fluid.
Although the White-winged Dove is mostly resident in the Southwest, it is expanding its range, and individuals can be found far afield. White-winged Doves have been seen from Alaska to Ontario, Maine, Newfoundland, and most places in between.
During the twentieth century, habitat loss and heavy hunting led to a serious drop in White-winged Dove populations in Texas—from as many as 12 million to fewer than 1 million by 1939. But with proactive management of hunting and the species’ ability to adapt to urban living, the population rebounded to some 2.2 million by 2001, and its range is still expanding.
In the early 1980s, the singer Stevie Nicks introduced millions of Americans to the White-winged Dove with her song “Edge of Seventeen,” which hit #11 on the Billboard charts.
The oldest White-winged Dove on record was at least 21 years and 9 months old. It was banded in Arizona in 1958 and recovered in Mexico in 1980.
I’m birding this morning so will be late reading your posts and comments.
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It’s been awhile since I shared any of the birds I’ve been seeing. As I mentioned I was overwhelmed getting my life list up to date after March’s Florida trip, and April’s Texas trip. Today, I’m sharing 3 North American Jays that I added to my Life List this year.
Some of you know how badly I’ve wanted to get a decent photo of the Blue Jay since I first saw one in FL in 2024. They seem to know when I’m in Florida and Ohio with my camera. They toyed with me…hiding in the foliage or giving me a brief look and flying away as soon as I lifted my camera. Well, in March I had two full days to bird with my friend Mary. I spied a Blue Jay and doggedly followed it for 20 minutes to get a photo that wasn’t blurry, or a butt shot.
On my last day of birding with Mary we saw four Florida Scrub-Jays and we thought two of them were banded. I don’t have any information about this Jay from the bands unfortunately. It was backlit so I had to do some masking to lighten up its face a bit.
While in Texas the bird I had hoped to be an easy one to see was the Green Jay. I got lucky and saw a few but, getting an image was tricky. I did get some at a World Birding Site. They set out feeding stations for the birds and the Green Jay flew in for some nibbles.
These three Jays take me to seeing 7/10 Jays of North America. I’ve seen the Blue Jay, California Scrub-Jay, Steller’s Jay, Pinyon Jay, Green Jay, the Florida Scrub-Jay, and the Woodhouse Scrub-Jay. Maybe one day I’ll see them all, but if not I’m so excited to see as many as I have.
It’s been an amazing birding year for me. My bird count for this year is 361 species. With any luck, I hope to pick up a couple more with fall and winter migration. I think this is going to be the best year of birding I had in my life.
I’m birding this morning with the group so will be late getting to your blogs and comments.
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In February this year while I was in FL I had hoped to see my Sister-in-Law, but she was in New Zealand and came home the day before I was leaving for home. Our timing didn’t work out but, while she was in New Zealand she was sending me photos of some neat birds she was seeing, some gorgeous vistas, and she sent some door pics!
She and my nephew went to Hobbiton, the preserved movie film location for the Shire for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. The site has 44 permanent Hobbit holes including Bag End, the Party Tree, Bagshot Row, and the Green Dragon Inn.
What she didn’t know then was that my favorite book from J.R.R. Tolkien is The Hobbit. I’ve read it twice, and bits and pieces since…you know, favorite passages and quotes. Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf are my favorite characters, so when she sent a photo of Bag End I was thrilled. Bag End you see, is Bilbo Baggin’s hobbit-hole.
She said it’s okay to share the photos with you too.
While prepping for this post I dug out my old paperback copy of The Hobbit to see what Tolkien says about Bilbo’s house and door. Chapter 1, he says, ” In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke.”
From there he or the narrator of the story goes on about the inside of the house and how it is laid out, so we’ll skip that and go right to Robin’s images.
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The Tiger Swallowtails were out in abundance last month zipping and flitting from flower to flower feeding and resting. The flower of favor was the Narrowleaf Milkweed that is native to No. Nevada.
Summer update-It’s been busy around here. We had the exterior of the house painted. It looks nice and clean and, all the divots in the back walls from getting hit by errant golf balls are fixed!
We’d also been having water pressure issues that the plumbers and water company couldn’t figure out. They decided it had to be the water pressure valve even though the bib tests said it was fine, so after two weeks of this we agreed to replace the water pressure valve. After replacing it the water pressure issues were not fixed. The plumbers left scratching their heads saying they were going to brainstorm with the boss, and come up with other diagnostics to try and pin point the problem. A few hours after they left He-Man and I were going to run up to Reno, which is a 40 minute drive, so as you do I went to the bathroom and turned on the tap to wash my hands expecting the same little dribble of water to come out that we’d been having, when low and behold the tap was back to normal and my toilet bowl filled up really fast…as it should! I mentioned it to He-Man, so he flushed the toilet in the hall bathroom, and turned on the tap and, Voila! The problems we’d been having seemed fixed! Maybe the new valve just needed to settle in a bit? Who knows. We’re thrilled it seems fixed and the plumber is happy it’s fixed as well.
We rarely use the dining room as a dining room, but I have been using the dining room table to puzzle on and we play board games on it as well, so last week I decided to make my dining room a dining, library, game room. I’ve moved bookcases and almost all my books in there and bought a new recliner to go where one bookcase used to live in the living room. I can’t wait for it to arrive. Next up, I’ll be weeding out the books and stuff in my bookcase in my “retreat”. I sold the daybed I had in my retreat and now am trying to figure out how I’m going to refurnish this room. I’m in a season of change.
I’ve been birding, but was so behind updating my Life List after FL and TX trips that I haven’t been motivated to work on any images. I’m finally caught up and have begun to process some images. I hope to return to my Friday’s Feathered Friends posts soon.
How about you, are you in a season of change as well?
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In April this year I was in Texas birding but, I was keeping my eyes open for doors as well. Here’s one I spied while birding in Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center. It’s a fun one. I think you’ll agree.
Quinta Mazatlan is a preserve with 15 acres of trails, flora and fauna of the region and it’s a great place to see birds. Their mission, ” is to preserve the 1930’s country estate located on the grounds, and the native plants, and animals of the Rio Grande Valley. They do this by providing a sanctuary for environmental education, eco-tourism, and serving as an inspiration to people of all ages.” https://www.exploremcallen.com/things-to-do/parks-outdoors/quinta-mazatlan/
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Eleanor has sent another door to me to share. She finds good ones.
Accompanying her image she writes, ” Greetings from Arizona! This is the door to the lobby of the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield, AZ, built by the Goodyear tire company to entertain their executives at the nearby factory. Begun in 1919.”
I looked up this Hotel as the plaque on the wall beside the door says it’s an Historic Hotel of America.
It opened in 1929. Paul Litchfield built the hotel on his land on which is now called Litchfield Park.
The hotel has expanded into a resort with 331 rooms and has 3 golf courses, nine tennis courts, and three swimming pools.
To be included in the Historic Hotels of America they must maintain authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity from their respective time periods.
The hotel must be at least 50 years old, designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed on or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and recognized as having historic significance. As of 2025 the program includes 288 hotels in the 44 of the 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C. ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_Hotels_of_America
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