Saturday's Critters # 561

  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 still so far behind with my photos, this post is on our last day in Arizona, we visited the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. These are mostly images of birds we saw while walking around the gardens. 

1. The Curve-billed Thrasher, their bill is the perfect tool for hunting insects. They are grayish brown in color and have a long body. 

2. Male House Finch

3. Mourning Dove

4. Gambel's Quail, has a cute forward facing crest.

5. The Cactus Wren is a speckled brown bird with a bright white eyebrow and a little cinnamon color on it's sides. 

6. Another Curved-billed Thrasher next to a barrel cactus.

7. I found a Hummingbird among these flowers. The bird blends in well. 

8. The Queen Butterfly, is orange with black borders and white spots on it's forewings.

9. A lifer for me the Gilded Flicker, has a black bib and black spots on it's belly. Just at a glance I thought this bird was another Gila Woodpecker. The black spots on the belly are helpful with the id. 

10. This bird below is the female Lesser Goldfinch, it is a pretty bird.  

11. I was surprised to see this White Egret almost at the exit of the gardens. I did not see any water nearby? 

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!

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!

Update, this is also my 15th Blog Anniversary.

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!

Saturday's Critters # 547

 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!

More from Madera Canyon and Green Valley Arizona. Not far from our hotel the was a nice park with a pretty garden, there were hummingbird feeders all around the gardens and it was a great habitat for various birds. 

1. My lifer, from the Madera Canyon is the Painted Redstart is a pretty bird with a scarlet belly and black plumage and white on the upper wing. 

I tried to adjust the lighting on this photo below, it changed the color of sky but now you can see the white line under the Painted Redstart's eye.

2. Another Arizona lifer from Madera Canyon is the Brown-crested Flycatcher. It reminds me of the Great-crested Flycatcher seen in my area. 

3. After our dinner we enjoyed a walk around the Meadows Garden Park in Green Valley. This park was only minutes from our hotel. The Gambel's Quail was seen a few times during our trip. I have seen this bird on a trip to New Mexico years ago.  This one had some babies hiding most of time I could not get a photos of the little ones. 

4. The Phainopepla, the adult male has as tall wispy crest, a glossy black and has red eyes. 

Phainopepla

5. The Meadows Garden Park in Green Valley was a nice place to walk around admiring all the flowers, sculptures  and the birds.  We went twice once in the evening and again the next morning. 

6. The Lesser Goldfinch, the male has a dark cap with an olive back and it's habitat is in the west from the desert to the high mountains. This bird looks similar to our American Goldfinch. 

7. Below are some more sights from the Meadow Garden Park. 

8. The Curve-billed Thrasher was seen going back and forth to a nest with babies.

9. I like this sign and message.  

10. Prickly Pear Cactus is blooming.

I hope your enjoyed this post, the birds and garden images. 

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!