On the porch

The hummingbird migration is in full swing. Most of the birds are young adults and females of the black-chinned and rufous variety. We have 4 feeders out to minimize the territorial fights, and I make a lot of hummer juice every day. At night I take 3 of the feeders inside but leave one for the bats. The lesser long-nosed bats fly against the feeder and sip the nectar that spills out. This morning this guy was taking a rest above the back door.

The other day we saw this giant moth, also on the porch. He was 6 inches wingtip to wingtip and obviously worse for wear. We have tons of moths here, but I had never seen one this large. It is a Black Witch Moth. There is a lot of folklore about this moth, which is also known as the Mariposa de la Muerta. Thankfully, neither one of us is sick. And, if we had found him above the front door, we would have won the lottery. Well, darn.

It is hard to believe, but as I am writing this a new family of scaled quail walked by with a dozen golfball-sized chicks. It has been a great monsoon season.