Quote:
Originally Posted by Tucson_Tim
We don't see any waterfowl here for the obvious reason. In fact, the 24/7 fresh water pond that I installed does as much to attract birds and animals here in the desert as the food.
We get raccoons once in a while--not often.
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Raccoons can be a big problem up here if you leave any kind of food out, intentional or not. They seem to be the most numerous roadkill victims around here as well. Rats can be a big problem around bird feeders too. My feeders are 'squirrel proof'; meaning they have a cage around them that small birds can get through, but squirrels cannot. The most numerous birds around my place that I see/hear regularly are:
Finches (house and gold--the goldfinch is the state bird of Wa IIRC)
Sparrows (house sparrows as well as golden crowned, song, and white crowned)
Spotted Towhees
Chickadees
Juncos
Wookpeckers (Northern Flicker, Pileated, Downy)
And of course crows and sky rats (AKA pidgeons)
Last time I was in AZ (just east of Phoenix, visiting my snowbird in-laws; snowbirds seem quite common in AZ
), I saw a cardinal. Beautiful bright red bird. My Mother-in-law also fed the local roadrunner, usually with hotdogs or deli-style lunchmeat.