On Sunday I took my usual walk at the Desert Botanical Garden. It was an almost perfect day to be outside. (Sorry, all you snow country people.) While I was there, I got myself an iced tea and took a seat away from the crowds under a huge cascalote tree. That's where I noticed a bit of activity up in the foliage and around the yellow blooms on the tree. There was a group of Verdin flitting around in the tree looking for insects to feed on. Verdin are tiny little birds, only about 4.5 inches long (11cm) and they are members of the Penduline tit family. They are the only members that can be found in the Western Hemisphere.
I've seen these birds at the garden before and I've tried many times to get some photos of them but, they are on the move constantly. I sat under that tree for an hour with telephoto lens in hand and shot off around 40 photos before I gave up. These are the only two worth showing. It seems these birds never sit still, not for one second.
Oh well, it was a beautiful day to sit under a tree and drink iced tea. I'm not complaining.
18 comments:
You did well to capture such clear images, beautiful little birds!
A bird I've never heard of before and a tree I've never heard of before. Both would easily keep me amused for an hour too. And the tea, well that's just a bonus really.
I've struggled to get good pictures of tits here, too. Twitchy little things. Yours turned out well, though! It's a matter of perseverance!
Well at least our Robins do
Beautiful shots of beautiful feathered friends :)
You did well. These things flit like a flirt! Very hard to get a photo! The iced tea sounds perfect!
Sitting in the sun and chirping. You can't complain about that.
Cute little birds. Funny because on Sunday I had a walk and tried to get a photo of some birds but they were too fast for me too.
They are beautiful, particularly that first one!
Really beautiful.
Great shots, Sharon! I've never heard of these guys before.
That's a real little darling. I wonder what he'd say if confronted with the European Robin. They look a little bit like cousins! :-)
I think I have seen some of these in my tall bushes.
At least you got a couple of good shots. What cute little birds! Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the day.
Beautiful little bird.
This is the time of year I miss living in Phoenix. And the DBG is a perfect place to spend some time.
Never heard of the species, but since you point it out I've probably seen/overlooked them around PHX. Graceful little things.
What a sweet little creature!
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