Suited to Arizona

Macfadyena unguis-cati (Cat's Claw Vine)

One of the reasons I bought a couple of Cat's Claw Vines 15 months ago was that this popular vine is well suited to Arizona and notoriously fast growing, and I wanted something to break up the monotony of the high, unpainted block walls that surround my very large back yard. Well, no fast growth in my garden! After languishing as a single, six inch stem for months and months, in late November this plant finally decided to grow. (The other one is alive, but barely.)

The Cat's Claw is a self-climbing vine that attaches itself to a wall with tiny claw like structures. It tends to get top-heavy if not pruned regularly, and can come loose and topple. If that happens the only way to get it to self-attach again is to cut it to the ground. At the slow rate it's growing in my garden, I won't have to worry about that for quite awhile.

This vine is so tough it can take full sun on a south wall, is hardy to 15 degrees, drought tolerant and takes reflected heat. In spring, it has trumpet-shaped yellow flowers for a short period of time.

Geococcyx californianus (Roadrunner)

Recently this Roadrunner decided to stop his food gathering for a minute to rest on my courtyard pony wall. Although I snapped this photo through the window glass and screen of my home office, it's clear enough to see its coloring and size.

Roadrunners are ground cuckoos with some strange characteristics. It is especially suited to the desert as it has a nasal gland the eliminates excess salt, and it reabsorbs water from its feces before excretion. It is so fast it can catch a humming bird in midair!

The roadrunner's diet includes insects, scorpions, lizards, snakes, rodents and birds, but in winter when small animals and reptiles are harder to find, it will eat some plant material. This bird will go after rattlesnakes and kill them by whipping them around and slamming the snake's head until it dies, then it swallows the snake whole, digesting it a little at a time--half in--half out. Kind of a disgusting bird when you think about it!

First Time Quail Visitors

Callipepla gambelii

For the first time that I'm aware of, a small group of Gambel's Quail ventured into my garden. I've hoped to see quail here for the past four years, but none came around until today. At my previous residence, they were regular visitors, and I enjoyed watching them walk in a line the length of the garden walls around my home before moving on to the view fence railing. Sometimes they would keep going down the railing from house to house for about a quarter mile. They never seemed to leave the walls to walk on the ground! Even when trying to avoid predators, they run to hide in vegetation rather than fly.


I think this small band of female visitors (no male and no babies that I saw) is too small to be called a covey, but then, I don't know the count necessary to qualify as a covey! There were a total of five quail in this group. Gambel's Quail is also known as Arizona Quail, Top-Knot Quail or Desert Quail.

I get thousands of these Mourning Doves year-round, but in the fall, they seem to become more plentiful, and come to rest in my desert garden in late afternoon. They are as still as statues when resting. At times I've counted close to 50 of them sitting motionless in the elevated portions of the yard.






Different subject: This orange pot planted with Purple Heart is such a great color combo that I bought paint in these colors to paint a small tile-topped tool cabinet and a wooden planter stand, and anything else sitting around in my garden that I think needs painting. When the weather cools, I get ambitious about garden projects, but don't always follow through. If I do manage to complete a project, I'll post a photo in the future!

Dove Success!

Looks like the nestling rescue was successful! The parent is back and sitting in the hanging basket with the baby doves. It took about an hour for the parent to feel safe enough to approach the basket, and it wasn't long before it was in the basket with the babies.

I used an old hanging basket I had around my stash of garden stuff, reattached the chains, and then put in a layer of Mesquite tree clippings from a recent pruning job. I laid the original nest, which was pretty damaged, on top of the clippings, and then popped the nestlings in. They didn't move--just stared at me. I think they were in shock! The parent stayed at a distance while I was hanging the basket, and after a while, perched near the basket, checking things out. The next time I looked, she/he was sitting in the basket.

The nestlings have been given another shot, and I sure feel good about my role in making this happen. And, thank goodness for Google! I had no idea about how to attempt to rescue baby birds, but now I know what to do for baby birds from birth to launching. This is the first time I've ever seen live nestlings on the ground. Mostly, I just find smashed bird eggs under the trees.

Check the previous post to see how this all started.

Helpless

Last night we had a very strong windstorm, and this morning, my husband noticed a Mourning Dove nest lying on the ground under one of the Mesquite trees. Nearby on the hot gravel sat two nestlings, with the parent near them. I went out to look, and knew as the temperatures rose, the gravel would heat up to extreme temperatures. (It's supposed to reach 115 degrees today, and the humidity is high because of cloud cover.)

I came in and did some research on rescuing baby birds, and found out the only thing to do for them at this age is to put the original nest into a hanging basket, put the babies in it and securely hang the basket in the tree where the nest had been. Contrary to popular belief, parents do not reject baby birds because they have a "human smell", actually, birds have a poor sense of smell. If the parents can find the babies, odds are they will continue to care for them.

I'll be watching the rest of the day to see if a parent returns to the basket. If not, the article I read said to contact a wildlife rehabilitator. Since doves are so prolific here, the odds that they will take a couple of nestling doves is remote, so I'll just have to see if nature provides. This is the sad side of animal and bird wildlife. A person can only do so much, and at least I've done something. The thought of letting those babies roast on the gravel was more than I could deal with.

Half-Way to Fall

Even in the depths of summer, I do have some greenery, but nothing much flowering. It's just too hot! This weekend I got rid of the last of my container vegetable garden, as well as all the struggling potted geraniums, creeping charlie, dwarf marigolds and half dead cacti. This year I've upped my irrigation schedule to every three days for the shrubs and groundcover. Last year, I followed the guidelines for this area, which called for every 7-21 days. I tried the shortest--7 days--and my plants just about fried. I have a desert adapted landscape for the most part, so I'm a bit surprised that I have to water so often to keep the plants from suffering from water stress. However, I don't feel too bad about the more frequent watering as we are behind on annual rainfall. I've had only 1.96 inches since January 1st--quite short of the expected amount by this time.

The suggested tree watering schedule works fine at once a month or every 5 weeks. The only exception is my Tipu Tree, which is still getting established. I water it every two weeks.

With temperatures in the 115 degree range, the leaves of the Mexican Bird of Paradise shrub fold inward to conserve moisture and reduce sun exposure. From a distance, the shrub appears to be wilted, but this is normal for these extreme summer days.

Tiger Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris)

This lizard has the longest tail I've ever seen! There is not enough contrast to really get the full effect, but its tail is about twice the length of its body. This one must have been an artful dodger all season to have avoided the roaming neighbor cat.

When walking around my garden, I noticed a couple of empty bird egg shells on the ground under a mesquite tree. When I looked up, I spotted this dove for the first time. I'm not sure if the eggs are from hatched babies, or just casualties of the wind. After seeing so many poorly constructed dove nests, this one appears to be a better built model.

Sunday Stuff

So far, my Santa Rita Prickly Pear has retained its winter purple. I love the way the purple pad made for a colorful backdrop for the flower bud.

Rosa 'Tiffany'

This evening this rose opened, and its color was especially beautiful in the waning light. Once the sun is up, it will begin to wither as it is just too hot for the roses to last. However, all my rose bushes continue to have buds, hot or not.

A young Anna's Hummingbird found a resting place on a pot ring right outside my breakfast area window today. I took this photo through the window.

The fruit on my new dwarf Meyer Lemon tree is still hanging on. I have 28 lemons growing right now. I'm hoping at least a few will last until ripe. It's odd that blossoms are still appearing even in May. Not normal in my opinion.

Mostly Shrubs

Aloe sinkatana

I think I prefer Aloe flowers before they open because they look more precise and perfect. As they open, the flowers look wilted and discolored to me as they do here. Aloe sinkatana produces numerous offsets, so I have pots of this succulent all around my front and back patios. A. sinkatana is probably the best species of Aloe for this climate as it will take a full southern exposure.

Young Anna's Hummingbird

A young Anna's Hummingbird rested on a bare branch of a Chinese Elm tree in my front yard, after frantically gathering nectar from the Chuparosa shrub shown below. I liked this photo because of the sculptured branches against a bright blue sky.

Senna artemisioides

Feathery Cassia is the common name for this large shrub, which is now over five feet tall and wide. The fragrance is overwhelming. If you like it, it's marvelous, if you don't, it will drive you into the house!

Justicia californica

Chuparosa is a scraggly looking shrub that sometimes has leaves, and sometimes flowers, depending on the season. It has bloomed off an on all year, and right now it's really loaded. Some people don't like the scraggly look so they prune it into a neater shape. I like it scraggly.

Anna's Hummingbird

Calypte anna

Here is a female Anna's Hummingbird feeding on the nectar of a Chuparosa (Justicia californica) shrub. Anna's Hummingbird is the most common hummingbird in our low desert region, and they are seen here year-round. Their consumption of insects and spiders provides a slower metabolizing source of food, which helps them get through the shorter days and colder weather.

Orange Sugar?

Although this photo is nothing special as far as photographic skill, it's the first time I've actually been able to get a reasonably clear photo of a hummingbird, so I'm showing it. And, I was able to hold the camera steady without a tripod. That's a feat for me!

The hummingbird is a male Anna's Hummingbird. Anna's Hummingbird lives year-round in this part of Arizona, but I don't see them a lot this time of year. They are territorial and aggressive during mating season. Surprisingly, they make a lot of noise for their tiny size, and they like to dive at other birds, and even people! One went after my husband when he was working on a trellis in the garden a few weeks ago.

These hummingbirds don't just stick to flower nectar. They also consume insects and spiders. I had always heard that hummingbirds seek out red flowers first, but I've since learned that they don't care about the flower color, it's the sugar content that attracts them. In my garden, they like the Tecoma stans 'Orange Jubilee', Caesalpinia pulcherrima (Red Bird of Paradise), and Calliandra californica (Baja Fairy Duster). They go for the flowers of these plants first before going to Tecomaria capensis (Cape Honeysuckle) or Justica californica (Chuparosa).

May Desert Garden

My garden is at its best right now--the Palo Verde trees and Mesquite trees are in full bloom. All the plants are lush, and many of my cactus plants continue to flower. The garden will stay this way until mid-June, and then it will start its dormant period in July through mid-September, our hottest time of the year. It's hard to belive that three years ago this month, this was a barren piece of land.

This dove and its female counterpart had the wherewithal to build a proper nest and they have been taking turns incubating the eggs for almost two weeks. Dove eggs hatch in 14 to 15 days, so I should be seeing some babies very soon. The male incubates by day and the female by night, so this is the male. Doves are notorious for building very poor nests as I noted in a previous post, so the fact that this nest is still intact is a small miracle!

The Chilean Mesquite tree flowers, called catkins, are in various stages of their life cycle. Soon, these will become Mesquite beans, suitable for drying and grinding into flour. Not that I do this--but many people in our region do it every year.

Echinopsis x 'Los Angeles, an early morning bloomer, produces numerous flowers that wilt within hours. I usually set my alarm to get up early enough to catch these flowers at their peak. Getting up early is no small feat for me, but a glimpse of these flowers makes it worth a couple of hours of lost sleep.

A Mammillaria sp. is flowering in the typical Mammillaria flower ring on the new growth. The tag got lost on this little cactus, and I won't hazard a guess as to its species.

This cactus was labeled as Echinopsis pentlandii longispinus, but now that it has flowered, I have to wonder. The buds look more like Gymnocalycium buds. However, the flowers open only at night, making it hard to get a good shot. I don't know of any species of Echinopsis or Gymnocalycium that bloom at night, so maybe it's another genus altogether.

An unidentified cactus (another lost tag!) that produces small flowers that are more green than yellow. The flowers are a nice contrast to the red spines.

This Sansevieria suffruticosa v. longituba flower stalk has sticky droplets all over the flowers and stalk. This is the first time I have ever seen the flowers. I have no idea if the droplets are normal--but I believe they are because the flower stalks on two of these plants have the same substance on them. Either it's normal or they both have the same problem!

Bryophyllum 'Crenatodaigremontianum' is making its little plantlets on the leaf margins. It is one of the "Mother of Thousands" plants that I keep potted to avoid having a crop of this stuff.

The Creosote bushes are in full bloom, with thousands of tiny sweat bees swarming around them. The small fuzzy seedpods form after the flowers are spent.

Persistence Doesn't Alway Pay Off

For several mornings now, I’ve had to deal with debris in the form of large twigs, Mesquite leaves and Acacia pods covering a good-sized area of my patio. I knew from experience the debris was from a bird, but I couldn’t figure out where it was trying to build a nest. This morning I finally spotted it—a Mourning Dove sitting on a few twigs atop a metal scupper near the roof of my house. I watched for a while, and each time the bird flew away, debris dropped and the nest was ruined. Each time, the bird would start over, delivering more twigs to its chosen spot, and then the same thing would happen again. Last night we had a good wind and what nest building that had been done the day before was completely destroyed, the evidence all over my patio. I noticed the dove had again started to rebuild.

Mourning Doves are not good nest builders to begin with and choosing the wrong spot for a poorly built nest is a recipe for disaster. I read that the male dove chooses the nest site and starts cooing until the female comes and gives her approval and they both start building. Another gal lead down the proverbial primrose path!

Building a nest on a metal scupper is not the thing to do, especially in mid-May in Arizona. Usually Mourning Doves nest in early spring, so perhaps this pair is not thinking straight. By the time any eggs hatched--if it ever got to that stage-- it would be early June and much too hot on a metal scupper for baby birds, especially with no protection from the wind. I can’t imagine baby birds lasting past the first breeze or a 110-degree day.

According to studies, most Mourning Dove nests are unsuccessful. I can understand that statistic by watching this pair with all their bad construction, poor location choice and their repeated attempts with the same results. At the risk of incurring the wrath of bird lovers, I can see where the term “bird-brained” originated. Nevertheless, despite all the perils and trials suffered by Mourning Doves, there are plenty of them. It’s estimated that there are over 500 million Mourning Doves in the United States.

I hope the dove figures out BEFORE she lays her eggs that her nesting plan is destined for failure. If she doesn’t, I'll be cleaning up smashed eggs on my patio instead of nest debris, or worse yet, babies who didn't have a chance from the beginning.