Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

Tag: Birds

Big Birds, Happy Healthy World. 03-29-23

Greetings from the San Cristobal, NM. This week a series of images of some of the big birds that frequent our area.

I hope you enjoy the following gallery of big birds.

Some of the largest birds in the area are the Sandhill Cranes that pass through on their migratory route. I photographed the two below in the Bosque del Apache.

Sandhill Cranes big birds in flight
Sandhill Cranes, the big birds.

The Turkey Vulture below is about to return to our area. They are known as the harbingers of Spring. If you are interested, you can read more here.

Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vulture.

I chose these images below out of a collection of photos that showed up when I searched my hard drives for large birds. It was hard to decide which to include, so I picked the ones I distinctly remember taking the shot. I went for feeling more than anything. I hope you like them. Click on an image to enlarge it.

Sandhill Cranes
Sandhill Cranes, ritual dance.

Always remember the birds at the zoo like this Flamingo. I had a stunning picture of a captive eagle in the Albuquerque Zoo published in Raptors of New Mexico.

Flamingo
Flamingo

As always, thank you for looking. Keep looking up you may be surprised by what’s above and around you. G

Little Birds, Happy Neighborhood. 03-22-23

Greetings from the San Cristobal Valley, NM. This week a series of images of some of the little birds that frequent our area of the planet, more precisely, our valley.

I hope you enjoy the following gallery of little birds.

Mountain Bluebird, a little bird that frequents our valley
Eastern Bluebird, a little bird that frequents our valley.
Juvenile white crowned sparrow
Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.
Pine Siskin
Pine Siskin.

A Cassin’s Finch so I was told. It could be a glorious house finch.

Cassin's Finch little bird
Cassin’s Finch.
White Breasted Nuthatch
White Breasted Nuthatch.
Brewers Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird.
Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker.
Brown Headed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird.

For the last few years, we’ve had a solitary Canyon Towhee in our garden. This shot was taken in a canyon, no less.

Canyon Towhee
Canyon Towhee.
American Robins
American Robins.

Woodhouse’s or Western Scrub-Jay?

Woodhouse's Western Scrub-Jay
Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, I think!

This is a Pinyon Jay, that I’m sure of. They have arrived in large flocks in the valley over the last two years, groups of a hundred to a few thousand.

Pinyon Jay
Pinyon Jay.
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow.
Spotted Towhee
Spotted Towhee.
Townsend's Solitaire
Townsend’s Solitaire.
Rock Wren
Rock Wren.
Mountain Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee.
Western Tanager
Western Tanager.
Bullocks Oriole with Hummingbirds
Bullocks Oriole with Hummingbirds.

The Red-winged Blackbirds nest in the cattails. Right about now there is a frenzy of activity and nest-building. The males are kept on their guard protecting the nesting spot.

Red-winged Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird.

The Magpie is every dog’s nemesis. They taunt our dogs and of course, our dogs take the bait.

Magpie
Magpie

This Evening Grosbeak was stunned following a window strike. I put it on the fence to recover. It did. Ten minutes later, it flew up into the crabapple tree.

Evening Grosbeak
Evening Grosbeak.
Western Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark.

This Northern Pygmy Owl would fit into a teacup and is smaller than most of the birds above.

Northern Pygmy Owl one of the little birds
Northern Pygmy Owl.

Not one of the truly little birds but not large either. It’s about the size of an American Crow.

Greater Roadrunner
Greater Roadrunner.
American Crow
American Crow.

Finally one of the rare visitors to the valley. I only spotted one Lewis’s Woodpecker this last year. Two years ago there were three at one time in the Ash tree.

Lewis's Woodpecker
Lewis’s Woodpecker

Little birds rock the valley, my heart and soul.

Happy Spring.

As always, thank you for looking, and for all the comments, compliments, and well wishes. G

Turkeys, Cranes, Raven and Magpie. 11-23-22

Greetings from San Cristobal. Happy Thanksgiving. I’ll start with a repost of these turkeys wandering in the old sunflowers at the Bosque del Apache NWR a couple of years ago. Seems appropriate for this week.

Wild Turkeys, Bosque del Apache, NWR, NM
Wild Turkeys, Bosque del Apache, NWR, NM.

From the Bosque del Apache (Woods of the Apache) to the Monte Vista NWR in Colorado and an image from my book, Rio Grande del Norte: An Intimate Portrait.

Sandhill Cranes, Monte Vista NWR, Colorado
Sandhill Cranes, Monte Vista NWR, Colorado.

Back in the Bosque del Apache for the evening ‘fly in’. It is a great opportunity to capture silhouettes against the warm light of the setting sunset.

Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache, evening fly in!
Evening fly in, Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico.

At home in San Cristobal is the old cottonwood tree where the ravens and magpies congregate. On this evening there is only one of each. Often times there’s a milieu and fights over branches. I like to think these two get along or perhaps the space between them is the adjudicator.

Raven, Magpie, San Cristobal
Raven and Magpie in the old cottonwood, San Cristobal, NM.

As always thanks for looking. Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your turkeys. G

Taos Mountain Cloud, Mourning Doves, Wild Iris Meadow, Venus Moon

Another fun week in the field and a couple of instances from the deck! During one of the last snowstorms not long ago in memory but ages ago for the much-needed moisture. We can watch the storms build up over Taos Mountain from the deck. The mourning doves have been enjoying life and seem to be inseparable, hanging out side by side in the old cottonwood tree, also visible from the deck. We made a trip to join our friends Chris and Carla at their ranch in Black Lake, New Mexico a few days ago. The meadows were carpeted with millions of wild iris. I’ve seen similar fields of iris in the Valle Vidal but nothing like this. And this was only a square mile of it. On June 11, the waxing crescent moon swung by the planet Venus. I have a favorite parking spot to watch this particular sight when it occurs. Summer Solstice is coming up on Sunday, June 20th. Where to go for a Solstice moment photo? We shall see!

Taos Mountain cloud
Taos Mountain storm cloud building up, San Cristobal, NM

Mourning Doves
Mourning Doves in the old cottonwood tree, San Cristobal.

Wild iris, Black Lake, NM
Wild iris, Black Lake, NM, in Lonesome Dove country near where they filmed the TV movie.

Venus, Moon, sunset
Venus, Moon and sunset across the Taos Plateau.

Enjoy the summer where you are and as always, thanks for looking. G

In the Garden with Buddha, the Birds and a Moth

Not a lot of words are needed here. Suffice to say I’m playing around with my new Sony 100-400mm lens, and what better place than the garden. The birds are willing accomplices and help me put the lens through its paces. I really like this lens a lot.

Garden Buddha
Garden Buddha with seashells, San Cristobal.

Black Headed Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak.

Black Headed Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak

Juvenile Black Headed Grosbeak
Female immature Black-headed Grosbeak.

Juvenile Black Headed Grosbeak
Female Black-headed Grosbeak.

Juvenile Evening Grosbeak
Female Evening Grosbeak.

Male Black-chinned Hummingbird
Male Black-chinned Hummingbird, tasting the nectar or the air.

Male Black-chinned Hummingbird
Male Black-chinned Hummingbird guarding the feeder.

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird.

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird on the feeder.

Brown-headed Cowbird
A Brown-headed Cowbird returned to the garden this year.

White-sided Sphinx Moth
White-sided Sphinx Moth, often referred to as a hummingbird moth.

Thanks for looking. See you next week. G

Northern Flicker, Evening Light, Cottonwood Tree, San Cristobal

Northern Flicker in the evening light on top of the cottonwood tree, San Cristobal. I know for sure it saw the moon and planets at the same time I did. It had a slightly more elevated view over the rooftops but no closer to the cosmic events. Thanks for looking. G

northern_fliker_cottonwood_tree_sc_9300-7344453

American Robin, Portrait, Not Mary Poppin’s Robin

American Robin, a portrait, and not Mary Poppin’s Robin. I’ve always remembered the fact that a robin in Great Britain is much smaller, (everything’s bigger in the States), and Disney had an artistic license. But let’s not quibble. This sweetheart was enjoying the water in the birdbath. Thanks for looking. G

American Robin, Portrait, Not Mary Poppin's Robin

Evening Grosbeaks, In The Garden, San Cristobal

Evening Grosbeaks, in the garden, San Cristobal. The variety of birds were in abundance last week. We had Robins, Magpies, Juncos, and Chickadees. Townsend Solitaires, Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Crows, and a few straggler House Finches rounded out the thirsty bird species. When the ever vigilant Evening Grosbeaks showed up in their droves, the thirsty drinkers had to back off, all but the brave Robin back there. Thanks for looking. G

Evening Grosbeaks, In the Garden

Red Tailed Hawk, Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico

Red-tailed Hawk, Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico. I spent twenty minutes with this magnificent young raptor who spent the time primping and preening, grooming its feathers. I thought he was going to sit there all day. As I thought about driving off, he shook out his wings and tail feathers, had a quick poo, lifted off still pooing, and dropped out of sight. Thanks for looking. G

Red-tailed Hawk, Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico.

Sandhill Cranes, Formation Flying, Monte Vista NWR, Colorado

Sandhill Cranes, formation flying over the Monte Vista NWR in Colorado. Popped up here yesterday for a look-see. There are a few thousand Sandhill Cranes in the refuge. Though, after this initial bombardment, we didn’t see them much but we could hear them plenty. Thanks for looking. G

Sandhill Cranes, Formation Flying, Monte Vista NWR, Colorado