Desert Botanical Garden

Photographs from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix

We're lucky to have in the middle of the Phoenix metropolitan sprawl a world-class desert plant museum and education center.  Their collections of cacti, succulents, trees  and plants from all the globe's arid regions are arranged in a multitude of beautiful landscapes, habitats and gardens. Unsurprisingly, the desert flora attract a multitude of critters that include many birds, both permanent and migratory. These wild animals are free to come and go, unlike the captives in the Phoenix Zoo located on the other side of Papago Park.  But as the garden showcases countless leafing and flowering plants and trees, there is a natural year-long supply of nourishment for these creatures.

Unknown cactus with blooms.

Under the canopy of blooming Chilean palo verde tree.  I thought of a cherry blossom tree painted yellow.

Joshua tree with Chilean palo verde in bloom.

Pink fairy duster.

Yucca bloom.

Type of sunflower, maybe Mexican sunflower plant.

Cardon cactus blooms.

Male Gambel's quail sharing a pathway.

Inca dove with its scale-like plumage.

Male Anna's hummingbird. While I frequently photograph this species sipping my backyard feeder, there's no substitute for seeing him drinking from wildflowers.

Male Anna's again.

My favorite reason to visit the garden is to catch this male Costa's hummingbird.  He's not as common as the Anna's and is an infrequent visitor to my backyard feeder.

When the birding gets slow, there's always something new to photograph like this fly on a blooming pencil cactus.

Great swallowtail, a common butterfly, on lantana.

Great swallowtail. I'm having luck photographing insects in full light at 1/4000 sec.

The garden has some food venues that attract native animals like this greater roadrunner.  He's just flicked a kernel of someone's discarded popcorn up into his throat.

Bee in lavender.