Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Nature always wears the color of the spirit."

Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona, 

"Teach us love, compassion and honor that we may heal the earth and heal each other."

 "We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 554

Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

I have just two more days of Arizona photos, more critters for you to enjoy. These are from April 27th and the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. It was a great zoo, I enjoyed seeing lots of wonderful animals and even some wild birds seen in and around the zoo.

1. The Chilean Flamingo, it is said these flamingos are in the decline. The disturbance of the nest and illegal taking of the eggs. Also water levels and climate change have an affect on these wild birds. 

2. The Chilean Flamingo exhibit was nice, they are lovely birds. 

3. In the Aviary, I saw two Sun Bitterns, Motmot, Roseate Spoonbill and a Black-necked Swan. There were lots of birds, flying around and very hard to capture with my camera.

The wild birds seen flying free at the zoo were the Vermilion Flycatcher, various hummingbirds, a raptor and the Black-crowned Night Heron. 

4. The young giraffe below born to Penelope (Penny) is named Moyo was born on January 15th and was the first giraffe born in the zoo in 24 years. The Reid Park Zoo is doing their part in saving animals from extinction. 

5. The young giraffe named Moyo with it's Mama Penny.  Moyo is the Swahili word for heart.

6. The Reid Park Zoo is committed to the conservation of endangered African elephants. The baby elephant's name is Meru, named after Tanzania's Mount Meru the 5th highest peak in Africa.

7. The baby elephant Meru was born March 8th 2024, weighing I assume a healthy  265 pounds. The baby elephant is well cared for by Mama Semba and big sisters Nandi and Penzi. 

8. A Meerkat portrait, adorable zoo critter. The Meerkat is a member of the mongoose family.

These are called Aldabra Tortoise, endemic to the island of Aldabra off the coast of Africa. 

The Lion reminded of Iris's Henry the lion. 

I will do a part two later sharing our visit to the Reid Park. I hope you enjoyed my critters.

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Life is short, take the beach trip."

Turks and Caicos

"Smell the sea and feel the sky, let your soul and spirit fly."

 "We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 553

  Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Sharing various photos from June, our walks at the reservoir, my backyard and from the NCR bike trail. 

1. Below are images from our walk at Hemlock Gorge, A Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, plant leaves look like Hostas and a Louisiana Waterthrush.

2. The Gunpowder River at Hemlock Gorge Prettyboy is a place I always see the Louisiana Waterthrush. 

3. The nearby NCR Trail in Parkton Md, is one of our go to trails for easy walking. On this day we saw some pretty wildflowers, House Wren, Black & White Warbler, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, female Cardinal and possibly an Oriole?

4. I've been seeing more of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. 

5. This is a female Orchard Oriole, the female has olive green upper parts and yellow breast and bellies. They can be found near streams, eating insects and fruits and nectar. 

6. Back home on the deck railing I have the Carolina Chickadee. 

Another visitor to my deck railing is the Carolina Wren.

7. The neighbor's Peacock was missing for a few weeks and then it came back every day for the first week of June. It was seen on my deck railing, showing off on the driveway and on our roof.

Also the first week of June I started seeing the White-tailed deer in our yard.  

8. Below a daily June photo of our visiting friendly Peacock. Most days we could see the Peacock out our windows just sitting on our deck railing. 

I hope you enjoyed my bird and critters. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Today is a good day to smile and be happy."

Papago Park, Sandstone Butte seen from the Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona 

"Let the beauty of kindness and compassion color your day with joy."

 "We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 552

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

I am taking you back to Arizona, on April 26th we were up early to do some birdwatching at the Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson. Sweetwater is a water treatment facility and an urban wildlife habitat. It is also a birding hotspot, it is said over 320 bird species have been found at this spot. It is an easy walk on the trails around several ponds, marshes, native trees and shrubs. We saw lots of lizards, a cute turtle and a rabbit.

Below are some of the waterfowl we saw while birdwatching at Sweetwater Wetlands; the Common Moorhen, American Coots, Pied-billed Grebe, Cinnamon Teal, more American Coots and a few Cormorants.

Common Gallinule or known as the Common Moorhen until July 2011, it has a bright red shield on it's head and a red bill with a tip of yellow. 

The adult Cinnamon Teal has a red head and body and has a brown back.

Below are the Verdin, Yellow Warbler, Abert's Towhee, Common Yellowthroat Warbler, Lesser Goldfinches and a second Yellow Warbler. 

The male Lesser Goldfinch, has a dark head and back and bright yellow underparts. 

The male Yellow Warbler is a  brilliant yellow and has rusty red streaks on the breast.

Below are the Vermilion Flycatcher male and female, White-crowned Sparrow, Gambel's Quail, Red-winged Blackbird and am I guessing a Broad-billed Hummingbird. 

The Abert's Towhee, reminds me of the female Cardinal. They have a long tail, a dark face and brown plumage.

The White-crowned Sparrow has gray face and black and white streaks on it's head. 

 The Vermilion Flycatcher is one of my favorite birds. It is not a lifer on this trip, I first saw this bird in Belize. The male is a brilliant red with Brown-black back and wings. 

Not critter related but here is my beautiful granddaughter Sophie. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"The sky is a canvas and every cloud is a stroke of the brush."

Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona

"I am a blue sky thinker and dream big."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 551

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Can you believe it is July already, the days and months are flying by. I am still sharing photos from our April Arizona trip and photos of our walks and backyard bird from May. Today's post is a mish-mash of images from my yard, neighborhood and our local trails. 

1. A walk to the Prettyboy lake, a blurry photo of a White-eyed Vireo, Red Admiral Butterfly, Double-crested Cormorants, the reservoir, Canada Geese, Cliff Swallows at the dam. 

2.  The Eastern Bluebirds raised at least 2 broods this year. I am glad to see them using my birdhouses and they are doing well.

3. The Peacock liked walking and sitting on our deck railing. 

4. I noticed a pair of Great-crested Flycatchers sitting on my deck, sunning themselves? When they saw me with the camera they flew to a nearby tree.

5.  In my yard, I was seeing the Eastern Bluebirds, Downy Woodpeckers, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Great-crested Flycatchers and the neighbors Peacock was becoming a daily visitor to our deck. 

6. Various photos of the Peacock that made repeated visits to our deck.

7. Out our den window perched in the rhododendron was the Gray Catbird and at another time the Robin. Both birds were knocking on the window.

8. The Black Rat Snake on our deck, I think it was hoping to find a meal in my Bluebird House. Luckily the house was empty and hubby chased the snake off of the deck. 

9. From one of our walks on our local fire road, I was hearing the Eastern Wood Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher and I believe there was an Eastern Phoebe, I saw a Baltimore Oriole high in a tree and than there were 3 of the Orioles chasing some crows away. The Mountain Laurel is blooming and looking pretty. 

At the end of May we stopped seeing the Peacock, I am not sure where it goes.  My neighbors have not seen it but they have notice a fox with kits has been hanging out across from their driveway. The Black Bear came back one night and got into the trash again but we did not see it since the first sighting.

We are grand-dog sitting Winnie the Corgi, excitedly waiting for the birth of our granddaughter. Should hear news soon.

Edit: We now have a beautiful granddaughter Sophie born July 3rd, 6lb 15oz. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!