Today is for the birds II

Here are more of the bird photos I've taken so far that I wanted to post.

First, the Cactus Wren.  I really like this bird.  At first I thought he was my Gila Woodpecker, until I got all the photos together and saw his coloring is different.  I remember this guy from Rockhound State Park in New Mexico.  That's the first time I'd seen one, but I got some good photos here in Quartzsite.

The first four shots are of the bird enlarging a hole in the Saguaro Cactus.  He kept coming out of the hole, looking around, then going back in.  I could see pieces of the cactus dropping out from the hole from time to time.  Notice that he is standing on the cactus needles in the next two photos.  Click twice on them for a closer view.

Anything going on out here?  

 Here he is peeking out of the hole.

And now climbing the Saguaro Cactus to the top.  The Gila Woodpecker did the same thing, landed lower on the cactus, flew up and stopped to look around, then flew to the top to get a better view of his surroundings.  These are the only two birds I've seen so far that seem to like this cactus.  They must have the right toes, feet and legs to land and be comfortable on these long stickers.  If you click on the photo below twice, you'll get a better view of how his toes are clinging to the cactus.

 Isn't he pretty?  Look at how his toes are spread to stand on the needles.

It's when I saw this Cactus Wren on the ground that I realized he wasn't a Gila Woodpecker.  That spotted stomach and dark brown on the top of his head gave him away.  I didn't notice those on the photos above.  I just assumed he was my woodpecker. Now that I know, I can see the huge differences in their coloring.

Next are the Gambel's Quail.  They don't come around every day, but from time to time I'll look out the window in the afternoon, and there they are.  They are such pretty, interesting birds.

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."

 On guard:

And finally, two more - the House Finches, they seem to be everywhere in New Mexico and Arizona:

And this last one - I thought it was a female House Finch, but now I'm not sure. It's got the right beak and spotted stomach, but it has a yellow breast.  Here it is at all angles - anyone know what this bird is?

Generator update: I went in this morning and Bob checked out the generator.  When I had the Level II service done on August 16 this year at Cummins Rocky Mountain LLC in Albuquerque, NM , the tech said he didn't adjust the valves, they were okay.  Well, they weren't okay.  Bob took off the valve cover and adjusted them for me. He said the inside of that area behind the valve cover was spotless - like it was new, he was surprised.  So that's good.   I was also having problems with the choke after my Rocky Mountain service.  Bob adjusted the choke.  They changed the spark plug.  But didn't check and adjust the spark plug gap.  Bob did that.  Making all these adjustments, he said, will get rid of the smoke and help a little with the oil usage.  Not much, though. 

Bob checked everything out and said everything in the generator looks good.  But he also explained to me that if The Palms isn't level, my generator oil's dip stick won't give me a good reading.  I don't always park level, but I DO stay within 3 degrees of normal, and try for 2 degrees, which is supposed to be okay.  So what he said was, "Right now it's full, right up at the ADD line.  Go back to your site and check where the oil level is.  Now you know that whatever it says today is FULL.  That's your benchmark." So, I did that, and it was halfway between the FULL and ADD.  It appears my not being level has really affected the dipstick reading.  I'm also going to be checking my oil when I'm in town in a level parking lot.  Don't you just love it when fixes are so simple?  (I'm not uncrossing my fingers yet, though.  We'll see what happens.)

He charged me for his labor only, no parts, accessories, miscellaneous, tax, etc.  And I was very happy with the total.  Thank you all for your good thoughts sent my way, they worked.

Bob is a o! 

Bob's Generator
623-224-7655
www.bobsgenerator.com
He's on Main Street in Quartzsite right off Highway 95 - in the large yellow building.

From me and Katie, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)

Today is for the Birds I

Lots of pretty birds here at Quartzsite, and some of them visit me and Katie every day.  Here are some of the photos I've gotten so far:

This is a Gila Woodpecker - male.  The males have the red colored feathers on the top of their heads.  He was able to get nectar from this feeder.

I could hear the pecking sound, but it was coming from the wrong place, he was pecking on my chair.

Below is a female - no red patch on her head:



I'm having trouble getting good hummingbird shots here.  They just swoop in, drink, and fly away, really fast.  Here's the best of what I've gotten lately. The first one is an Anna's male and the second one is a Black-chinned male.

This next bird is a small Verdin - male.  He's really interested in the feeder and keeps coming back and trying for more.  I don't think he's figured out that he's not looking at the right place.

I've gotten lots of photos of the Mourning Doves - they are very quiet, calm and submissive to the squirrels, but once in while they show signs of fighting back.  Even with each other.

Lots of cooperation at the water bowl...

 ...and usually at the seed feeder, too.  But not this time, the bird on the right is telling the other bird to Back Off.  Notice how his neck is puffed out.

Some wing flapping - I said Back Off!   And look at his neck now.

The dominant dove really gets his wings going, jumping over the other.

 Of course, when the squirrel is in the seed feeder, the doves know who's boss.

I have too many photos I want to publish - too many for one post, so I'll put the rest in my next post.

After taking my generator in for service in Albuquerque for a Level II Generator Service, I'm having more problems than ever.  Now I am having to add oil every 3 to 5 hours of use.  Used to be 8 hours.  It's smoking a little now, too, but just white, not black.  Funny thing is I'm going through oil like crazy, but there's no oil on the ground, no oil that I can see in the generator area, and the only smoke is white - once in a while.  I can't figure out where the oil is going.  My son says it's either leaking or burning.

I haven't written much about the latest generator issues, it's just too boring.  So, I have an appointment with Bob's Generator here in Quartzsite for tomorrow at 9 am.  Please send me good thoughts that Bob will be able to find the problem, fix it, and that it won't be too $$$.  I'm such a positive person, but somehow this generator has defeated me.  But I'm getting up - back in the ring tomorrow - and punching back.  I'll let you know what happens. 

The Schwann's truck just drove by slowly, honking.  I wouldn't mind purchasing some of their meals, ice cream, etc. if I could do it on a now-and-then basis.  I think you have to be on a regular purchasing schedule, though, and I don't want to do that.  I don't have enough room in my fridge/freezer for that.  I'm told their food is wonderful, though.

A big WELCOME to our newest Follower, MsBeth!  She has three blogs, but this one talks about her Van experiences - MsBeth has a new-to-her 1979 Dodge Van, Dallas Cowboy colors, thank you very much!  She's in Texas, if you didn't guess.  :)   Thanks for following along with me and Katie, MsBeth, and Welcome Aboard!  :)

It's been pretty hot here the last few days, but starting today it's cooling down a bit.  Today is really windy, though.  The first, probably of many, windy day we've had since we arrived.  With all the trees in our site, I can really hear the wind blowing, which I love.

From me and Katie, have a great Monday, everyone!  :)

It's a continuous movie...

...outside my window here at Quartzsite.  And the action changes all the time.  Today I'm only posting photos of the Harris Ground Squirrels here in our site.  These were taken on different days at different times.  So far there are two or three little guys.

Finding the water bowl.

Drinking - the squirrels come back time after time during the day.  They are thirsty little critters.

Larger squirrel waiting for the little guy to finish.

Chattering.

I kept hearing the weirdest screeching bird-like noise and couldn't figure out where the bird was.  I finally realized it was this squirrel.  He was standing there with his little fists out in front of him.

Getting ready - and...

Then he would lean forward a little and stick out his neck and make that screeching sound.  He did this over and over and over.  I wonder what it means?  I didn't see anything going on in the campsite that was out of the ordinary.  I guess he had his reasons.

SCREECHING!

He likes to hang out under my chair in the shade.

Finding seeds.

Two little squirrels snacking on the seeds.

What's that noise over there?

Sharing with a Gambel's Quail.

And NOT sharing with a Mourning Dove

I'm warning you!

And STAY AWAY until I'm done!

Little drink of water - can you see the tip of his little pink tongue?

And a little snack in the shade.  Yup, I've got it made in the shade for sure!

And those are our Squirrel Tales for today.  Or Tails?

From me and Katie, have a great Friday, everyone!  :)

Wordless Wednesday - Surfing Duck

From me and Katie, have a great Wordless Wednesday, everyone!  :)