Look What Visited My Garden Today!

Desert Grey Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

Late this afternoon I stepped outside to check on my roses, and much to my surprise, this creature was standing under a Palo Verde tree staring at me! It startled me--I didn't know what it was, and I stared right back. This stare-down went on several minutes, and since the animal didn't move, I went in the house to get my camera, hoping to catch a couple of photos before it bolted. I needn't have worried--it was still in the same spot, motionless and staring at me. I snapped about 20 photos, getting closer and closer with each one. Then, I began to wonder if this stare-down was normal, and thought maybe it was a rabid fox, so I retreated into the house to watch it from a window. It hung around for about 10 minutes, then sauntered away, jumping the perimeter wall.

From looking at photos on the Internet, I determined this is a Desert Grey Fox--and it's the first fox I've ever seen! This fox is a member of the dog family and it can climb trees, where it rests, hides or searches for a bird meal. These foxes are basically nocturnal, but they do come out during the day if they want to forage for small mammals, bird eggs, insects, birds, fruits, or berries.

About this time of year, fox families separate after the mother stops nursing the young. Grey foxes are usually solitary during the winter. I'm not sure of the sex of this fox, but I think the coloring is quite attractive.

First Time Quail Visitors

Callipepla gambelii

For the first time that I'm aware of, a small group of Gambel's Quail ventured into my garden. I've hoped to see quail here for the past four years, but none came around until today. At my previous residence, they were regular visitors, and I enjoyed watching them walk in a line the length of the garden walls around my home before moving on to the view fence railing. Sometimes they would keep going down the railing from house to house for about a quarter mile. They never seemed to leave the walls to walk on the ground! Even when trying to avoid predators, they run to hide in vegetation rather than fly.


I think this small band of female visitors (no male and no babies that I saw) is too small to be called a covey, but then, I don't know the count necessary to qualify as a covey! There were a total of five quail in this group. Gambel's Quail is also known as Arizona Quail, Top-Knot Quail or Desert Quail.

I get thousands of these Mourning Doves year-round, but in the fall, they seem to become more plentiful, and come to rest in my desert garden in late afternoon. They are as still as statues when resting. At times I've counted close to 50 of them sitting motionless in the elevated portions of the yard.






Different subject: This orange pot planted with Purple Heart is such a great color combo that I bought paint in these colors to paint a small tile-topped tool cabinet and a wooden planter stand, and anything else sitting around in my garden that I think needs painting. When the weather cools, I get ambitious about garden projects, but don't always follow through. If I do manage to complete a project, I'll post a photo in the future!