Puttering around and visiting critters

Vail, AZ

12 Jan, 2023 

Putting up a new birdfeeder

I'd been patching up the old birdfeeder for about 6 months; one of the plastic sides had broken in the sun (both plastic sides had dried out, yellowed and become brittle - the fate of plastics in the desert), and the wood had warped to the point that I had to wire the feeder together.  Finally, I broke down and purchased a new, and bigger one.  

This Roadrunner wasn't afraid at all!

I kept expecting it to notice me and run away - but, it came up to within 6 feet and wandered around for a bit, only casually jumping to the wall when I moved to get my camera.  Still, it didn't flee, but took a long look around before jumping into the back yard.

The javelina were more shy

I was doing some pruning of the mesquite in my back yard and saw this small family on the other side of the wall.  They knew I was there and were nervous - the boar kept snorting and scaring the baby.  But, they stayed very close (again, just about 6 feet away, just on the other side of the wall) for several minutes before taking off into the underbrush.

Flew into one of my big mesquite trees and hung out for awhile

Huge!  Along with the great horned owl that occasionally visits, this is the biggest guy I 've seen here.

Always interesting critters to look at while I'm puttering around outside - and sometimes I'm even up early enough to catch the sunrise!