Our Latest Animal Visitors
...and an Owl’s Avian Visitors
One of the main reasons I love living in Tucson is that we get to see wildlife in our yard every day, with a variety of animal, bird, reptile, and arthropod visitors. In my post two weeks ago I mentioned that on New Year’s Day, Hubby & I saw a Bobcat, a Coyote, and 16+ Javelinas, which we consider the “Big Three” most common Charismatic Macrofauna we see in our yard.
In the first 17 days of 2024, we’ve seen Bobcats 2 days, Javelinas 3 days, and Coyotes 10 days, including multiple Coyote sightings some days. Since I’ve already painted a Bobcat & a Coyote for my Perpetual Journal* I decided to paint Javelinas for my first PJ entry of 2024.
* I have a goal of painting something different for each entry in my Perpetual Journal. I estimate it will take me 3 years to fill the pages of my PJ so this means 156 different subjects in this one PJ. Since the Sonoran Desert is rich in biodiversity and I like to challenge myself to paint flora and fauna I haven't painted before, this goal should be attainable, at least in theory. 😊
It’s story time! 🤗 A couple of years ago Hubby & I watched a herd of 8+ Javelinas helping themselves to the potted plants by our patio (a.k.a. their free salad bar). We stepped outside, keeping a respectful distance, to try to discourage them by yelling at them (no profanities!) and clapping our hands. Most of the Javelinas moved away, but one jumped into a 9’ wide fenced-in enclosure in our yard (where we were trying to grow wildflowers) and then couldn’t figure out how to jump out of the enclosure! It started running around in circles inside the enclosure, nostrils flaring, sometimes running head-first into the fence itself. We felt sorry for it—it was obviously stressed—and we wanted to help.
Hubby had the bright idea of laying a long-handled push broom across part of the fence to bend the fence down (carefully doing this when our Javvy friend was on the other side of the enclosure!). After a few minutes Javvy figured out the lowered fence was an escape route, made its escape that way, and ran off to catch up with the rest of its herd. Hooray!
Now, on to our Owl friend…
We have a Western Screech-Owl roosting in our owl box and have seen our Owl friend peeking out of its hole every day this year, so far. Recently the Owl had some avian visitors!
I’m pretty sure the Owl knew the Mourning Doves were there, but I’m not convinced the Doves knew the Owl was there! Note that the Owl, the Dove on top of its box, and at least one other Dove all appear asleep! 😴 Amazing!
I hope you find something amazing in nature this week!
What a great photo of the owl.
I love your growing journal. Such good stories and journaling goals. The visits of macro-fauna desert friends are special treats. Glad the javelina made it out of the enclosure, and I hope not too much damage to the wildflower bed. The owl and doves together photo is so remarkable. What a fine capture!