Double Bacon Appreciation Week

With one week left at the Double Bacon Ranch, it seems appropriate to look back at all of the strange and wonderful wildlife that we've encountered on the property. When we first moved in, it was a tiny house with a naked yard. Our first spring, a porch was added. It was huuuge and lovely. But there's only so much that can be done with a place that makes a handyman swoon, especially if you're handy but not *that* handy!

Butterflies and moths featured heavily in our experience at DBR, as did wind scorpions and 'red racers' - the thrill of a bright, pale pink snake in the yard is entirely unparalleled. Moth flies were also a thrill, one at a time, until ~25 were amassed... I do hope they'll make a guest appearance in our future. Hindsight is a strange thing, it makes me realize that moth flies never made it into a blog post!

Native, non-domestic mammals were few and far between, but Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) youngsters were certainly the mamal highlight of our 2.5 years at the Double Bacon; the occasional fox (gray, if I'm not mistaken) and raccoon would make token appearances, but by and large, the list was birds.

There are two birds to add to this list below; Rufous Hummingbird and Song Sparrow, the latter seen from the kitchen window by Matt. Each bird (128, including the previous two) was in some way detected from the property. Some flew over, some perched - just barely - on our side of the property line, or were heard from within its boundaries.The yard... oh, the yard.... highlights are in bold:

Scaled Quail - Callipepla squamata
Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
Great Egret - Ardea alba
Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
White-faced Ibis - Plegadis chihi
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura
Osprey - Pandion haliaetus
Mississippi Kite - Ictinia mississippiensis
Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus
Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii
Harris's Hawk - Parabuteo unicinctus
Broad-winged Hawk - Buteo platypterus
Zone-tailed Hawk - Buteo albonotatus
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis
Sandhill Crane - Grus canadensis
Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus
Upland Sandpiper - Bartramia longicauda
Long-billed Curlew - Numenius americanus
Franklin's Gull - Leucophaeus pipixcan
Rock Pigeon - Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura
Inca Dove - Columbina inca
Common Ground-Dove - Columbina passerina
Groove-billed Ani - Crotophaga sulcirostris
Barn Owl - Tyto alba
Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus
Lesser Nighthawk - Chordeiles acutipennis
Common Nighthawk - Chordeiles minor
Common Poorwill - Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris
Black-chinned Hummingbird - Archilochus alexandri
Anna's Hummingbird - Calypte anna
Broad-tailed Hummingbird - Selasphorus platycercus
Allen's Hummingbird - Selasphorus sasin
Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon
Golden-fronted Woodpecker - Melanerpes aurifrons
Red-naped Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus nuchalis
Ladder-backed Woodpecker - Picoides scalaris
Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus
American Kestrel - Falco sparverius
Merlin - Falco columbarius
Prairie Falcon - Falco mexicanus
Western Wood-Pewee - Contopus sordidulus
Willow Flycatcher - Empidonax traillii
Gray Flycatcher - Empidonax wrightii
Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe
Say's Phoebe - Sayornis saya
Vermilion Flycatcher - Pyrocephalus rubinus
Cassin's Kingbird - Tyrannus vociferans
Western Kingbird - Tyrannus verticalis
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Tyrannus forficatus
Western Scrub-Jay - Aphelocoma californica
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos
Chihuahuan Raven - Corvus cryptoleucus
Common Raven - Corvus corax
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Stelgidopteryx serripennis
Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
Cave Swallow - Petrochelidon fulva
Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin - Auriparus flaviceps
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana
Canyon Wren - Catherpes mexicanus
Bewick's Wren - Thryomanes bewickii
Cactus Wren - Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula
Swainson's Thrush - Catharus ustulatus
Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis
Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos
Sage Thrasher - Oreoscoptes montanus
Brown Thrasher - Toxostoma rufum
Curve-billed Thrasher - Toxostoma curvirostre
European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum
Nashville Warbler - Oreothlypis ruficapilla
MacGillivray's Warbler - Geothlypis tolmiei
Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas
American Redstart - Setophaga ruticilla
Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia
Black-throated Blue Warbler - Setophaga caerulescens
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Setophaga coronata
Townsend's Warbler - Setophaga townsendi
Wilson's Warbler - Cardellina pusilla
Green-tailed Towhee - Pipilo chlorurus
Canyon Towhee - Melozone fusca
Cassin's Sparrow - Peucaea cassinii
Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina
Clay-colored Sparrow - Spizella pallida
Brewer's Sparrow - Spizella breweri
Vesper Sparrow - Pooecetes gramineus
Lark Sparrow - Chondestes grammacus
Black-throated Sparrow - Amphispiza bilineata
Lark Bunting - Calamospiza melanocorys
White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys
Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis
Summer Tanager - Piranga rubra
Western Tanager - Piranga ludoviciana
Pyrrhuloxia - Cardinalis sinuatus
Blue Grosbeak - Passerina caerulea
Lazuli Bunting - Passerina amoena
Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea
Varied Bunting - Passerina versicolor
Painted Bunting - Passerina ciris
Dickcissel - Spiza americana
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus
Western Meadowlark - Sturnella neglecta
Yellow-headed Blackbird - Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalu
Great-tailed Grackle - Quiscalus mexicanus
Bronzed Cowbird - Molothrus aeneus
Brown-headed Cowbird - Molothrus ater
Orchard Oriole - Icterus spurius
Bullock's Oriole - Icterus bullockii
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula
Scott's Oriole - Icterus parisorum
House Finch - Haemorhous mexicanus
Red Crossbill - Loxia curvirostra
Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus
Lesser Goldfinch - Spinus psaltria
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus

Our new adventure will have some challenges: mercury vapor lights across the street, no forest next door... no mature deciduous trees within a few blocks. Ultimately we hope it will provide a more flexible living space for us, even if the blacklighting isn't as good. Actually, we'll probably lose sleep over that. At least we'll be about 1/2 mile closer to Post Park and the SW ponds!