good-times-rollin: Wild Birds Unlimited in Tucson

Corona de Tucson

September 10, 2022

Friday afternoon clouds...we could smell the rain !

Yesterday morning, we found ourselves heading back to Tucson. Joe had an appointment with the eye doctor at 8:00 am. We skipped walking, had a cup of coffee while the puppies had breakfast and were out the door by 7:00. It is a common answer when either of us asks, "How far is it?" to always reply 26-28 miles. So far, the miles/time to get any where in Tucson is the only downside to living southwest of the city. By no means is it a complaint...we love it here! Traffic can be a little on the heavy side that early in the morning (some folks do have to go to work) so we allowed ourselves a good 45 minutes. We prefer these early appointments. There are usually other stops to make and Friday was no exception. After getting a great report on Joe's eye, we were off to Wild Birds Unlimited...I love that store. We bought a goldfinch feeder and Nyjer Thistle seed. Lesser Goldfinch live in this part of the country year round. They often stop by for a drink, but never visit any of the other feeders.

The ladies at Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) are awesome. Not only are they friendly and glad to answer all my questions, they are a wealth of knowledge. We learned a lot about Lesser Goldfinch. First off, these sweet little songbirds prefer to eat away from the large birds so as not to be intimidated or harassed. And second, the Nyjer seed should be kept fresh and dry. We had no idea that these picky little acrobats prefer a high oil content seed and once the seed dries out will turn up their beaks and look for fresher food.

We also learned they will eat at the patio (a less chance of the seeds getting rained on) and have no problems sharing their space with the hummingbirds. So, we hung the feeder this morning and fingers crossed we have takers.

Our next stop was almost as exciting as the bird store. It has been awhile since we treated ourselves to brunch. Brunch is my favorite meal to eat out and being so close, I couldn't resist a second visit to Cafe a la C'Art. I love this old historic part of downtown Tucson.

We arrived about 10 minutes early...they open at 10:00 am during the week...along with a couple of other folks.

We chose to eat inside this time even though the patio is very inviting...but then so are all the other spaces.

Both of us ordered the exact same thing we had last time. Joe had the Cafe Skillet and after tasting his roasted potatoes with bacon, tomatoes and rosemary, I might have to make a change next time. I ordered the Salmon Benedict...a yummy combo of poached eggs, salmon cakes and sautéed spinach all smothered in a dill dijon creamy sauce.

Back at the oasis, we welcomed dark clouds and patches of blue. We could smell the rain and hear the thunder.

It was a nice surprise to wake up this morning and see that we did get rain sometime during the night.

I planted a small pot of begonias this past spring. I always had pots and beds of begonias in Georgia and thought why not. To my astonishment, the one little pot I planted is quite huge and very pretty. It has to be watered everyday, so who ever rinses out the bird bath (which we do every morning) also has to water my begonias. This was one small tray with six tiny plants.

After the rain...

This morning, we had a rather historic visit. I counted at least 35 Gamble's Quail in the yard all at the same time. They arrived in hordes thru the fence over the fence and even over the concrete wall. They just kept coming and coming !

They ate, they scratched, they fussed, they had water, and they chased each other in circles.

And then they left...just like they came...over the wall, over the fence, and thru the fence until there were only a couple remaining that didn't linger long.

When it was all quiet again, I happened to notice a new hummingbird at the feeder. I spent time trying to identify it and found a close match (White-eared Hummingbird) but there were differences so I don't think that is it. Do you know this hummingbird? I don't remember ever seeing a hummingbird with a white stripe over his eye.