Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Wet Birds

It's monsoon season in southern Arizona and we've had our share of spectacular thunderstorms and torrential rains, but the weather hasn't stopped the birds from coming into our flooded patio.

This little dove toughed out a drenching rain sitting on top of a melting seed block.Since he didn't seem frightened when I approached, I suspect he's a juvenile.Another dove stood stoically on the wall.Hummingbirds came to the feeder, raindrops dripping from the ends of their bills.This little female housefinch sheltered on a cardboard box on the back porchwhile a male fluffed up and seemed to enjoy the shower as he ate a seed.A cactus wren strolled through and was reflected in a puddle.The wet weather didn't stop this woodpecker, with his punk hairdo, from climbing down the wall.

10 comments:

Cyn Bagley said...

Really enjoyed the pictures and commentary. :-)

robin andrea said...

That's quite a diverse group of birds you have there. Love the cactus wren and the woodpecker. That red head is really very interesting.

Endment said...

That looks like a lot of water and a lot of very wet birds
Wonderful photos as always.

Mary said...

I particularly like the woopecker. We could do with some of that rain her.....the streams and ponds in the forest are all drying up.

LauraHinNJ said...

What a beauty your cactus wren is! (Yes, I have desert-bird envy.)

MrsGreenThumb said...

Nice bird images. It must be wonderful to get some rain. It's been dry here for months. I think weather conditions create some of the best opportunities for photography.

Pam in Tucson said...

cynthia - Thank you! It's fun to take disparate photos and try to create a blog post theme. I can't write the way you do, so I try to do it with pictures.

ra - I love the woodpeckers. He was climbing down the wall to pick at an orange half I'd left there. I'm fascinated by the ladder pattern of its tail.

endment - I sometimes wonder why the birds stand out there, looking so bedraggled, but I guess they enjoy it.

mary - The dry pond is remarkable for England. I hope you have rain soon.

laurahinnj - I love the patterning on the cactus wrens, but don't care much for their call. They greet me in the morning when they hop up on the windowsill outside my studio to look for insects.

Pam in Tucson said...

mrsgreenthumb - I like cloudy days for photography, too. I hope you get rain soon. Your garden's so lovely and I'm sure you're not happy using precious water to keep it alive.

JLLove said...

Great series and commentary.
Wish we had rain now. But we're in our hot dry season and rain is far away!

Cyn Bagley said...

Pam ... thank you...

I also use pictures to get the words flowing.