Off to Phoenix!

My family flew to Phoenix over Easter break. My in-laws have a winter home there and they kindly invited the four of us to stay with them. First off, I have to say that my in-laws are the most generous and gracious people that a daughter-in-laws could ask for. They made their home ours. We had planned day trips and activities every day and they had supper waiting for us every evening! The weather was gorgeous- highs in the low 90s and night time lows around 60 degrees. I had never been in a desert climate before and was amazed at how comfortable the heat was without the high humidity that I'm used to with Minnesota summers.

One of my first birds of the trip was this killdeer panting over her eggs in a sandy lot.

These great-tailed grackles were everywhere. We could always find them gathered around the landscaped fountains and waterfalls. I heard an astounding array of sounds coming from these comical birds. They seem to be first class mimics. It seems the locals don't like them- they're loud and there are lots of them, but I enjoyed watching and listening to them chatter, squeal and squawk.

Every pond had coots- as common as Canada geese on a golf course in Minnesota. I had never seen them on the ground before, waddling and bobbing their heads like they do in the water.

I had a few life birds in Arizona. (great-tailed grackle was the first!) I'll share the rest over the next few days.

By the way- we left Phoenix Easter Sunday night, 84 degrees and a soft breeze and came home to Minnesota 3 hours later to 20 degrees with a wind-chill factor of ZERO!!!