Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Hummingbirds in South-Western U.S.

This first hummingbird was seen in Phoenix, Arizona this past February. The two pictures are of the same bird, whose head flashed red at certain angles.
We saw this hummingbird in San Francisco, and watched it fly into a tree which turned out to contain its nest. The nest blended in perfectly with the branch and pine cones.

Wildlife from camping (Guelph, Ontario)

 Some wildlife found while camping at Rockwood Conservation Area.

Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) cotyledons and first leaf.  
A spider lurking in its web among cliff rocks. Not sure what kind it is.

Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor).

Smooth Cliffbrake fern (Pellaea glabella).

A very elusive green heron (Butorides virescens).

Hawk vs. Crow

the red tailed hawk who lives by the field
We were biking along a path past a field and saw two red tailed hawks circling above, riding the winds. As we got close one suddenly dove, pulling its wings in tight to its body. Right after, the other one followed, and we saw a crow diving just ahead of it. Both birds pulled up at the last second and the crow flew away while the hawk rose again slowly on the current.