Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week a gallery of random abstraction in and around the block. I have many more of these taken on personal trips, photo tours, and neighborhood walks so future posts may occur. Mostly shot on an iPhone, I am constantly reminded of what a wonderful and spontaneous piece of equipment it is.
Click on an image to expand and click off it to go back. Enjoy!
As always, Thank you for looking. My thoughts are with friends experiencing the wildfires in New Mexico and California. Have a great week where you are. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week an iPhone panorama of my first view of Williams Lake in six years. I was watching the birds in the garden again when I wasn’t out walking this week. Black-chinned and Broad-tailed hummingbirds along with the same family of cowbirds, magpies, western flycatchers, and doves.
The trip yesterday to Williams Lake was spontaneous, I was heading somewhere else and decided to go in a different direction… up! It’s not a long hike and the trail was clear of most of the snow banks. Muddy and wet but the crossings were easier than I expected, an observation I made, I went up here on July 4, 1994, with my four-month-old son on my back, and the snow was so deep I had to turn around and go back down. It’s June 12 and for the most part, the trail is clear of almost all snow. Click on photos to enlarge.
Williams Lake with Wheeler Peak on the left, NM.
And on July 23, 2011…
Williams Lake 2011
Back to the garden…
The hummingbirds are enjoying the new feeder, the Eurasian-collared Doves are reconstructing last year’s nest in the ash tree and the feeders are attracting all sorts of others.
The Western Flycatcher the Ash-throated Warbler and a Juniper Titmouse are back. The Tufted Titmouse has returned after two years of absence only to find I bunged up the hole in the siding on our home where it had previously made a nest. It will have to nest somewhere else this year, perhaps in a tree!
Below is one of two Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. I love the little tongue. I believe that this is an immature female.
These Eurasian-collared Doves built a nest in the ash tree late last summer. They are earlier this year. The female sits in the nest and the male brings twigs to reinforce it to sustain it against the winds.
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, sleepy bighorn sheep rams in the morning sun, birds in the garden, and the Rio Grande Gorge with Ute Mountain.
The Rams were shot on a photo tour at the gorge rim and weren’t inclined to do anything more than fall asleep or chew their cud!
Ram #1
Ram #2
There were eight rams in total, most were uncooperative regarding pictures. Still, I marveled at their primordial-looking selves. Those horns!
This week we’ve had Brown-headed Cowbirds return to the garden, male and female. See below for a full list of other species. And, the hummingbirds are back in numbers since we planted lots of colorful flowers and filled the feeders.
Male Brown-headed Cowbird, San Cristobal, NM.
Female, Brown-headed Cowbird.
This beautiful House Finch showed up for a singsong yesterday evening.
House Finch.
Today the Merlin Bird App recorded and confirmed a Warbling Vireo on a Taos Ski Valley trail. Unfortunately, there is no picture.
It’s greening up everywhere, and the Rio Grande below appears more grand. The runoff in the mountains is building as temperatures warm up. Some stream crossings I’ve made in the last few weeks are beginning to spill over onto the trails.
Ute Mountain and the Rio Grande Gorge.
Here’s the list of birds this week in the garden and neighborhood.
Brown-headed Cowbird House Finch Bullocks Oriole Pine Siskin Western Tanager Violet Green Swallow American Crow Common Raven Black-billed Magpie Northern Mockingbird European Starling Black-headed Grosbeak House Sparrow Evening Grosbeak Broad-tailed Hummingbird Spotted Towhee Mountain Chickadee Northern Flicker House Wren Berwicks Wren (according to the Merlin App) Yellow-breasted Chat Ash-throated Warbler Canyon Towhee Yellow-rumped Warbler Mourning Dove White-breasted Nuthatch Song Sparrow.
As always, thank you for looking and all the support, comments, and compliments. Have a great week. G
