It's a wildlife awakening around here.
This daddy and his family live under the mesquite and saguaros in the wash below our house. He and mama shepherd their dozen or so little Callipepla gambelii around the inskirts of our property, venturing close to the pony walls on the ground while Dad keeps watch from above.
Mom was nowhere to be found this afternoon; I like to think she was leaving Dad in charge in a relatively safe space while she went off to munch on insects all by herself. As much as I think that there is nothing cuter than scampering baby quail, parenting that many of them must be exhausting.
The ground squirrels are busily defoliating the barrel cacti, leaving their detritus behind, sual.
What was unusual was finding migrating ducks on the side of the pool today:
You can see why.
The rest of his family was further out in the yard. He was keeping watch. I stayed inside.
Little Cuter has robins, cardinals, black squirrels, and a mole in her yard. I have quail, ground squirrels, ducks, and coyotes. What a wonderful world.
There is a group of 15 to 20 javalinas that travel through the wash next to us, or through the back yard sometimes. We see the occasional coyote, and there have been reports of bob cats. Yesterday we saw a huge line of baby quail crossing the street, so cute. The ravens have been over flying the yard recently, they sit on the patio roof and have conversations. I love listening to them.
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