I apologize in not posting lately, but I’m in the middle of cataract surgery and it’s now somewhat difficult for me to see my computer screen even with cheaters. I’ve also had a medical procedure on my hand and until recently typing has been difficult and it generates many errors.  But some of my best Palm Springs photos came in our last couple of days there and I’m getting to some of them now.

These are a couple of characters you’ve seen in prior posts… a female and male Anna’s hummingbirds.

And a couple of other birds I’ve shown previously, Verdin…

One morning when walking around the parking lot at the resort I spied a pair of Say’s phoebes… making a living fly-catching.  I was frustrated because they kept landing on man-made structures… light poles and shades over parking places.  I finally photographed one in a tree… and then it flew down to a rock, where I obtained a couple of additional  photos.

However, the best was to come.  As I watched the phoebe hopped down from the rock and grabbed a large preying mantis, and I was able to obtain about four photos of the bird with the preying mantis in its beak!  This was a photographic triumph beyond my wildest expectations.

Here’s a little bonus… a birding lesson.  How to differentiate between a crow and a raven while they are in flight.  The raven has a diamond-shaped tail (as seen below) while the crow has a fan-shaped tail.

Finally, a little good news for all of us.  I had to send my good birding lens to Nikon for repairs at a cost that I’m too embarrassed to mention.  However I have had it back for a couple of weeks and my new results with the lens that was “returned to factory standards” are what I consider exceptional.  So after maybe one or two more posts from the birds of the greater Palm Springs area we’ll be back to some very nice photos of birds in the old home turf.