Animals in the Garden

When I first moved here I thought the desert was pretty much inhabitable, but I have found that I have actually seen more animals or at least as many as I did when I lived in the Mid-west. Most of these animals are welcomed as friends and other, although interesting are not welcomed.

I've only seen chipmunks in my garden one year. This one obviously had babies. It was quit tame, and let me takes picture from about four feet away behind a blind. 

Mourning doves are always welcome in my garden, unfortunately if you put out bird seed for them the pigeons think their invited too. They often make nests in the live oaks and don't seem mediocre
nest builders, sometimes they don't even build a nest and just lay their eggs on the ground under a bush. Their mournful coo is always nice to wake up to.

Bullfrog

We actually brought this one in as a tadpole.  It grew up in our pond.  On rainy or cloudy days it would sometimes hop across the yard and take a swim in our swimming pool. I was hoping to hear them croaking at night, but we never did.

Hummingbird in Mimosa Tree

Hummingbirds hang out all year round if you put up hummingbird feeders.  They are always fun to watch and often fight with each other over the feeder. They are quite tame and will hover within inches of your face if you are near their feeder or a flower they are interested in visiting.

Tomato Hornworms

These are most unwelcome guests. Unfortunately, you usually don't discover them until half your tomato plant is gone, and it certainly doesn't take them very long to devour an entire plant. They are quite amazing though because they grow to be about the size of your little finger. They turn into a moth that is quite large. The moths are called hummingbird moths because they look a lot like small hummingbirds and are about the same size.  It's interesting to see them get nectar from flower by uncurling their very long proboscis. We have raised many of these from pupae. The pupae wiggle in your hand when holding them.

Chipmunk

Lizards

We used to have a lot of lizards in our yards, but they started disappearing when I got my Scottie and Westie. They love hunting them and chasing them away. Sammy, my Scottie, will start barking when he finds one, calling me to help him hunt it.

Sammy watching the Bullfrog in our swimming pool.

Dove chicks in the pepper tree next door.

Mother bird feeding babies on the fence

These birds showed up the same year as the chipmunks. It was so interesting to watch the mother bird bringing food for the babies who seemed to be just about as big as she was. There were three chicks but only two are visible in this picture.