Strange Backyard Birds

Baby Green Heron


Turkey Vulture


Great Blue Heron. He ate all the neighbors gold fish, not once but several times. The neighbor finally gave up trying to have a gold fish pond.

Most of the time these birds don't land in your backyard but all these did.

Cooper's Hawk

This is Gary, the Cooper's hawk. He comes to our backyard for little birds and yes he finds them. That is Nature's way.

The American Kestrels

Calvin is the male Kestrel. Notice his blueish grey wings.


Caleigh is the female. Notice her wings are the same color as her body.

We always know Calvin since he has one toe that turns up.


Caleigh brings home an insect.

These are the Kestrels that have nested and raised their young in our backyard. What is so interesting about the Kestrels are they develop real personalities.

The Western Bluebird

These are some of the photos taken of Western Bluebirds in our backyard. They have raise several broods of little ones. They use the same Bluebird house every year.

Western Kingbird

This a Western Kingbird.

California Hummingbirds

Mother hummingbird still feeding the fledling a week after they had left the nest.


This is a female Anna's Hummingbird.


This a Black-chinned.


This is an Allen's Hummingbird. We only see a couple of these each summer. They are often confused with the Rufous Hummingbird. The Allen's has green on its upper back,which is rarely seen on a Rufous.

All these hummingbirds were photographed in our backyard using high speed flash.

Great Horned Owl

This is a Great Horned Owl photographed at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum as part of the "Free Flight Program."