good-times-rollin: Ladderback Woodpecker

Corona de Tucson

April 9, 2023

It is so awesome to have Jamie and Andra and Ozzie close by. I say close, but they live on the north side of Tucson...about a 45 minute drive. They both work hard thru the week and often have things on the weekend to do. To make a long story short, we love it when they call to ask if they can come for a visit.

Our visits usually begin on Friday night for dinner, they spend the night and we find something fun to do on Saturday or just hang out at the oasis. And they head home on Sunday morning to get things ready for the upcoming week.

This weekend we all spent a wonderful morning at Saguaro National Park hiking the Cactus Forest Trail. It is close to home, one of our favorites, and a new trail for them.

The desert is dressed in shades of green and yellow...

dotted with purple,

orange,

white,

and lavendar.

There are lots of reasons to enjoy this trail as it meanders down into washes and up to wide open vistas with lots of curves and twists along the way. There is a beautiful stand of saguaros with barrels, chollas, stag horns, and ocotillo.

The first of the week, Windshields Arizona came out and did a terrific job removing Belle's windshield for service. Ryan and Damian promptly arrived at the storage unit where Belle waits patiently for the next adventure.

The moulding and bus trim was removed and cleaned, the old urethane was cleaned off, and the body was cleaned with a primer to prevent rust. New urethane sealant was applied to the body and the windshield was put back in place along with the moulding and trim.

Ryan"s grandfather began this business in 1952. Ryan is the third generation as his dad Victor is now the owner with 69 years experience. Ryan and Damian were not only prompt, but efficient as the entire job was completed in 2 1/2 hours. They were informative, polite, professional, and made a great team.

Left to Right...Ryan, Damian

I watched form the inside. With the windshield off, Ryan cleaned the body and Damian cleaned the moulding.

If you ever find yourself in need of a new windshield or just need your old one serviced, we highly recommend Windshields Arizona.

Back at the oasis, Dr Huang called with Dover's lab results.

My little shadow...

Dover has T-zone lymphoma. It's very common and one of the better types of cancers for dogs. It is slow to progress and the lifespan is usually measured in years. Treatment is not needed right away if the affected lymph nodes do not bother Dover and if she is not exhibiting signs of illness otherwise. An oral chemotherapy with prednisone will eventually be needed which most dogs tolerate well. Until that time, Dover will have follow up tests...palpate the node and bloodwork every two months. We are relieved and thankful. Thank you to everyone who sent positive thoughts and well wishes our way.

We had a fun backyard birding week. We had an unexpected visitor...a male Rufous Hummingbird. These tiny hummingbirds have one of the longest migration journeys of any bird in the world...roughly 3,900 miles from the northwest United States into Mexico and the Gulf Coast. Their travels take them farther north than any other hummingbird.

These fiesty little birds take a clockwise route of western North America each year. From Mexico, they travel up the Pacific Coast thru Washington and British Columbia to Alaska in late winter and spring. As early as July, they start south again traveling down the chain of the Rocky Mountains. They have an excellent memory for location which helps in finding flowers from day to day and year to year. They breed in Alaska...the northernmost breeding range of any hummingbird in the world. I find it amazing that the oldest recorded Rufous Hummingbird was a female at 8 years, 11 months old when she was caught and released during a banding operation in British Columbia.

The lighting was off to capture the vivid iridescent red/orange throat. The bird photos are better viewed if you clicked on the bird photo.

We were also excited to add a new woodpecker to the first time backyard visitor list.

A female ladder back stopped by for a late afternoon snack. She was a little shy at first but came back several times and eventually enjoyed the seed from both feeders.

They are considered to be small for a woodpecker with a short neck and a bill that is small, straight and chisel-like.

The Mourning Dove are always in the yard...perched on the fence, pecking for seed (which is 99 % of their diet) and occasionally enjoying a drink from the birdbath. We have no idea how to tell the male and female apart unless we see them in a pair and one is smaller than the other.

I always thought that Dove mated for life, but I recently read that is not always the case. They are typically seasonally monogamous meaning that they form a new pair bond each breeding season, but the same article also stated that many of them re-pair with the same mate. They are loyal to each other throughout the breeding season and spend all their time together.

Some pairs of Mourning Dove will remain together all year round in warmer regions. Many pairs raise three or four broods a year, and up to six have been recorded...that is more than any other bird in North America. They do everything together from building the nest to incubation and feeding and raising the chicks. We have been here a little over two years and this week we had a first...a pair of dove displaying affection for each other.

They even had their eyes closed !

All puffed up...

We did try to close our eyes...but I peeked !

A hug...too sweet !

The feeders have been especially busy all week with Cardinals, Cactus Wrens, Gila Woodpeckers, Gold Finches, Sparrows and Curved-bill Thrashers...all of them coming in pairs.

The Torch cactus bloomed...

Jack played ball...

Sally supervised...

and Dover slept.

Joe planted two small trees. Tucson Electric Power sponsors Operation Cool Shade and offers these small trees for $15.00 each. We chose Desert Willow trees. All the trees offered are low-water use once established, are three feet tall, and delivered (at no cost) to your home.