I hadn't seen a rattlesnake in over a year so I figured with the drought they weren't around. Cautious I was not! Around 8:30 a friend, Carlton Collier, dropped by to photograph Elf Owls and as he got out of the car he told me he supposed I already knew I had a rattler hanging out below the east feeder. Yikes! I hang out there too, and fill the feeder and other stuff. He went over to the feeder and showed me, and there it was, nearly invisible. Here's Carlton's photo of it. It's a
Diamond-backed Rattlesnake. Carlton had been here the previous two evenings and had seen it both times, but I had been in Alpine. Apparently, it's been gorging on birds at the feeder. I hope I will be much more careful henceforth.....
We sat and photographed a pair of Elf Owls. Here are my results. I realized I didn't have photos of one inside an agave stalk so that was my goal.
The male atop the agave was an unexpected bonus.
I saw a Hooded Warbler today but by the time I got my camera I couldn't relocate it. I'll try again tomorrow. Here is an empidonax flycatcher. I'm thinking maybe a Hammond's???
5 comments:
My Timeless Environments blog I just did a piece on growing up at the foot of Rattlesnake Mountain where last year I did encounter a Rattlesnake.
I especially like the photos of the Elf Owl and also the Agave Stalk with the tiny hole in it. Are these the same Owls as the Pigmy Owl of Tucson Saguaro Cactus fame ? I know they are endangered there. What about your Owls, are they rare or common ?
Do you have some kind of native woodpecker who first creates the hole in the agave stalk ?
Sorry for all the questions, just incredibly curious and excited by this.
Kevin
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On another note, I didn't realize you folks had Mojave Rattlers that far east. I've seen them in the Mojave Deserts and around Las Vegas and they were a bit more dull olive green. If it is a Mojave, then it's one of the deadliest of snakes.
One Las Vegas at a Hotel I did some promotional work for had an employee who was struck by a Mojave, but there weren't any defined puncture marks on his ankle, just a scratch or a brush mark. It was enough for this employee to take a year to recover. They have exceptionally deadly paralyzing venom.
Spooky!
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Pygmy Owls are not the same as Elf Owls but those in Tucson that nest in Saguaro are the Elf Owls, I believe, which are the world's smallest owls. They're not endangered here, but are rated as of concern. They're not that common here, but not rare either. Yes, a Ladder-backed Woodpeckers does all the hole making. Questions, no problem. Feel free to ask.
It's definitely a Mojave. I had an encounter with one years ago when I nearly stepped on it, so they, fortunately, don't seem to be aggressive. Still I'm going to try to find someone to remove this one.
That photo Carlton took doesn't show the color well because he took it when it was nearly dark. When I saw it, it looked more beige. Coloration varies from region to region I think. Like Elf Owls from AZ are slightly different colored from ours. Ours are the whitneyii sub-species.
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