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    Travels

    Birds and Blooms in the Desert

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure for more information. Published: Mar 15, 2015 · Modified: Mar 26, 2021 by Dee

    Hi friends! I hope you're all enjoying the weekend. I'm enjoying a rare free weekend, so I thought I would share some pictures of the birds and blooms I took from one of our recent walks in the desert. It's wildflower season in Arizona now, and the normally muted desert is bursting with extra color. It's also allergy season, but that's a whole 'nother story! Pops of yellow are everywhere, like these little beauties, which are known as Desert Sunflowers.

    desert sunflower

    I'm definitely not an expert on plants, so at first I thought these were some sort of Black-Eyed Susans. I had to look them up, and they actually grow from a plant called brittlebush. The plant's scientific name is Encelia farinosa, which sounds to me like a spell from the Harry Potter series.

    yellow brittlebush or Encelia farinosa


    The birds are out and about too. This brightly colored finch was perched high atop a palo verde tree. It isn't the clearest picture in the world, but since I had the kids with me, I was just happy that he was still long enough for me to get a picture!

    red finch in palo verde tree

    Then, Mr. Hawk made an appearance, and everything was still. There's something majestic about the way a hawk just glides over the land.

    desert hawk in the sky


    This little Cactus Wren, our state bird, has a nest in the tree in our yard. I've been trying to get a picture of her for the longest time, and this is about as close as I can get.

    cactus wren


    This is the nest.  Isn't it huge? It looks like Mama Bird even tried to add some mesh around it. 

    cactus wren nest in tree


    Apparently, the eggs have hatched, because I've seen her carrying things with dangling legs to the nest. But, she won't land if anyone is around. Instead, she'll fly around and around until you finally leave. So of course, we stay away and try to observe from a distance.

    I think the neighbors believe we're that crazy family who stares at trees. Oh well -- c'est la vie.

    Thanks for stopping by -- have a wonderful day!

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    1. Dee M says

      March 16, 2015 at 5:52 pm

      I haven't seen one that big either, Lori. I love French, and I like to use what little I remember here and there. And I say that to my kids too! 🙂

      Reply
    2. Dee M says

      March 16, 2015 at 5:48 pm

      I haven't either, but maybe she wanted a rustic industrial look. -- ha ha 😉

      Reply
    3. Dee M says

      March 16, 2015 at 5:46 pm

      There aren't that many this year, but it's still nice to see them. 🙂

      Reply
    4. Lana says

      March 16, 2015 at 5:43 pm

      Your pictures are beautiful! My parents live in Arizona, but I've never visited at this time of year, so I've never seen the spring flowers. Thanks for sharing them!

      Reply
    5. frances pickard says

      March 16, 2015 at 5:43 pm

      Fun Post! Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures. I don't think I've ever seen wire mesh incorporated into a nest before!

      Reply
    6. Lori Leigh says

      March 16, 2015 at 5:43 pm

      Wow, that nest is huge! I've never seen one that big. I love how you ended your post - c'est la vie! I say that all the time to my youngest, when she doesn't like how something is going 😉 Have a great week!
      Lori

      Reply

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