palm sunday

This Sunday I was doing some yard work and decided to take a few pictures of a date palm tree in my front yard...

I ran into this nesting dove in the palm and got a little too close, causing her to flush from the nest briefly.

time for a quick nest photo and a quick retreat (I don't like to purposely scare birds off nests)

and a more distant shot of the returned parent.

[On a sad note, I learned today that Tom Vezo, an incredible professional wildlife and nature photographer passed away while hiking Friday in the Rincon mountains east of Tucson. I knew Tom and his wife from the Tucson Native American flute circle. A really nice guy. Tom's work was widely published in magazines, including National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Audubon, and Arizona Highways. Tom will be missed greatly and those of us that knew him while he was here are better for the experience.]