Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week a bunch of snow geese and a couple of turkeys shot in the Bosque del Apache around this time of year almost twenty years ago.
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
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. Western Tanagers are back in our garden and neck of the woods this week. I observed their antics, fights, and general behavior for a few days. They are fun, playful, and not always nice to one another. Nature in all ways, always makes my day. I didn’t include pictures of the many bickerings, you know what that looks like. The photos are in no particular order, I hope you enjoy them.
Western Tanager, San Cristobal, NM.
Wind in the feathers.
Female Western Tanager.
Female.
A breeding male.
Some of my favorites from 600 images I paired down to a couple of dozen.
Adult male, as far as I can tell.
Birds of summer, San Cristobal, NM.
Incoming…
Outgoing…
Taking turns…
Waiting in line…
Waiting in line…
Standing back…
Breeding male.
Hiding out…
Observing…
Sometimes the lineup in the trees looked like the planes stacked up over the San Gabriel Valley waiting their turn to land at LAX or Burbank.
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, 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.
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.
Swainson’s HawkSnow GooseSnow GeeseRough-legged HawkRed-tailed HawkRed-tailed HawkRavenRavenGreat Blue HeronPeregrine FalconKilldeerLong-eared OwlMagpie and Red-tailed HawkMourning DovesNorthern Pintail ducksGreat Blue HeronRed-tailed HawkMale Northern HarrierGreat-horned OwlGolden EagleGolden EagleGolden EagleSnow GeeseEurasian Collared DovesBald EagleCooper’s HawkCormorantSandhill CranesBald EagleBald EagleCanada GooseCanada GeeseAmerican White PelicansAmerican AvocetWhite-faced IbisAbundance of Ducks
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
As always, thank you for looking. Keep looking up you may be surprised by what’s above and around you. G
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.
Eastern Bluebird, a little bird that frequents our valley.
Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.
Pine Siskin.
A Cassin’s Finch so I was told. It could be a glorious house finch.
Cassin’s Finch.
White Breasted Nuthatch.
Brewer’s Blackbird.
Northern Flicker.
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.
American Robins.
Woodhouse’s or 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.
Song Sparrow.
Spotted Towhee.
Townsend’s Solitaire.
Rock Wren.
Mountain Chickadee.
Western Tanager.
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.
The Magpie is every dog’s nemesis. They taunt our dogs and of course, our dogs take the bait.
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.
Western Meadowlark.
This Northern Pygmy Owl would fit into a teacup and is smaller than most of the birds above.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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 and Magpie in the old cottonwood, San Cristobal, NM.
As always thanks for looking. Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your turkeys. G
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 storm cloud building up, San Cristobal, NM
Mourning Doves in the old cottonwood tree, San Cristobal.
Wild iris, Black Lake, NM, in Lonesome Dove country near where they filmed the TV movie.
Venus, Moon and sunset across the Taos Plateau.
Enjoy the summer where you are and as always, thanks for looking. G
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 with seashells, San Cristobal.
Black-headed Grosbeak.
Black-headed Grosbeak
Female immature Black-headed Grosbeak.
Female Black-headed Grosbeak.
Female Evening Grosbeak.
Male Black-chinned Hummingbird, tasting the nectar or the air.
Male Black-chinned Hummingbird guarding the feeder.
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird.
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird on the feeder.
A Brown-headed Cowbird returned to the garden this year.
White-sided Sphinx Moth, often referred to as a hummingbird moth.
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
