Nice Harris's Hawk just south of Alamogordo, NM

I found this Harris's Hawk south of Alamogordo near the turn off to Oliver Lee State Park. In the bottom pic it looks like it is wearing that electric pole thing as a helmet. SeEtta

Monarch Butterflies also at Oliver Lee State Park

I saw 5-10 of these Monarch Butterflies (only 5 if they followed me but more if I was seeing different butterflies) also at Oliver Lee State Park, most in a riparian area in Dog Canyon shown below. This is a small park so I was impressed to see this many Monarchs there. SeEtta

Empid spp and other finds at Oliver Lee State Park, NM

I birded Oliver Lee State Park just south of Alamogordo, NM yesterday and found it to be a jewel both in nice birds and great scenery. I found this empidonax flycatcher species that seems to be a little late in it's migration through here. I also saw a Townsend's Warbler and an unidentified warbler--not bad for this late in October in this small park.

In addition to other expected species such as Black-troated Sparrows there were about 4 Rock Wrens near the Visitor Center who were quite inquisitive when I made squeaky noises with my mouth. I have found other Rock Wrens to be less skittish than many birds but this one came within a few feet of me and kept circling me even though my dog Chase was there with me.

After about 10 minutes the first Rock Wren was joined by several others that also came quite close. SeEtta

Cactus Wren-hidden (sort of) in mesquite

I found this Cactus Wren and a second (partner?) in a mesquite shrub where it believed it was hidden from my view. I took the top 3 pics through the foliage while the bird seemed assured I could not see it. 

I am glad I got these close ups as I find it has very pretty brown eyes.

Then I carefully walked around a foot or so to get an open shot and was able to get the rest of these pics. This is another iconic southwestern species for me. SeEtta  

 

Phainopepla at Percha Dam SP, glad it hadn't migrated south yet

Phainopeplas are iconic southwest birds but most migrate to Mexico for the winter. So I was delighted to spot this male when I took the trail from the Percha Dam State Park campground. He was about a quarter mile south of the campground and 50 or so feet up a tree.

He called a couple of times and at one point I heard another Phainopepla call but did not see the second bird.

Their shiny black plumage and whispy crest plus red eyes make these males most distinctive. SeEtta

'White' crane at Bosque del Apache "hooks up" with a typical Sandhill Crane

I stopped by Bosque del Apache NWR on my way south. As I drove one of the Refuge roads I saw 2 cranes flying close and saw that one was the unusual 'white' crane that the Refuge has identified as a leucistic Sandhill Crane. There had been concern by crane fans that it would be rejected by the other cranes and it certainly had been by itself when I and others observed it over the past week. As can be seen by the photos below the 'white' crane and it's new friend stayed together after landing and proceeded to feed together for the next 20 min while I birded nearby.

The bottom pic shows the 'white' crane and it's friend still foraging together much later. To left of them is a pair of Lesser Sandhill Cranes (the 'white' crane and it's friend are both Greater Sandhill Cranes and this photo shows the difference between these subspecies nicely) that had been foraging nearby. Don't know if the 'white' crane and the typical Sandhill Crane hanging with it will last but they appeared to be good buddies for about 2 hours until I left the Refuge. SeEtta

Nice large flock of Pinyon Jays-Magdalena Mountain area in NM

Yesterday I birded around the Magdalena Mountains just west of Socorro,NM. Birding was slow in famous Water Canyon in which a lot of rain fell for the prior two days. I was delighted to find this very nice flock of 150-200 Pinyon Jays on the lower slope leading up to Jordan Canyon.

Pinyon Jays are a species of concern across the west and in New Mexico so I am always delighted to see large flocks of them. I live in a county with a lot of pinyon juniper habitat so I see them at various times of the year and a flock of this size is about the largest I have seen there. SeEtta

'White' crane among the Sandhill Cranes at Bosque del Apache NWR

This 'white' crane showed up last week at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. It is clearly not an albino as it does have color not only in feathers but in eyes and in it's bill. The Refuge states it is a leucistic bird.

Though this 'white' cranes mostly whitish feathering fits with leucism I don't know why it's bill is so lightly colored.

I saw this unusual crane several times this past week. It has been in the company of Sandhill Cranes though I have not seen it interact with any.

Sandhill Cranes: from Colorado to New Mexico

 

I took the above photo of a large flock of Sandhill Cranes as they flew over my house a week ago.

I took the other two photos of Sandhill Cranes at Bosque del Apache NWR over the week-end.  These are early arrivals at Bosque with numbers just in the hundreds while tens of thousands will arrive next month. SeEtta

Sage and Curve-billed Thrashers

I found a Sage Thrasher this week in some 4-winged Salt Brush/Cholla cactus habitat in Canon City where I usually find Curve-billed Thrashers, and it didn't take long to find two of those fairly common birds for my area. The Curve-billed Thrashers are resident while the Sage Thrasher is presumably stopping over during migration. The dark streaking on the underparts of the Sage Thrasher, along with the shorter and straighter bill distinguish it from the Curve-billed Thrasher.

I included the photo just above that shows the white tips of the outer tail feathers of this Sage Thrasher--while Curve-billed Thrashers also have white on the ends of their outer tail feathers you can see in the last photo that their tails are slightly rounded.

The eyes of these two different Curve-billed Thrashers are clearly orange while the eyes of the Sage Thrasher, though not as clearly visible, tend more to yellow. The Curved-billed Thrashers show definitely decurved long bills with spotted underparts somewhat visible on the bottom bird. SeEtta

Orange-crowned Warbler fest on Canon City Rivewalk

I did not notice how this warbler is holding it's left wing so far down as these birds were flitting about quickly. I hope it doesn't have an injured wing as this would be a problem for it's migrating.

I watched well over a dozen Orange-crowned Warblers busily foraging in a mixed flock along the Canon City Riverwalk today. Actually it was at 1:30 in the afternoon when I decided to take a walk there during an interlude in the drizzly weather. I suspect the big rains we had yesterday (I got a total of about 1.25 inches at my place these 2 days) had brought them down and now they were fueling up for the rest of their migration. Most vocal in the flock were several Black-capped Chickadees but several Brown Creepers were also vocalizing. Also in the flock were a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a couple of Mountain Chickadees, 2 White-breasted Nuthatches and several Downy Woodpeckers. SeEtta

Lewis's Woodpeckers- some good looks

A few days ago I found a number of Lewis's Woodpeckers at my friend's property east of Canon City as well as near a local orchard. This is the first I have seen of this species since before breeding when they become secretive.

They were quite playful today, chasing and pestering each other.

They were also caching food for the winter in crevices of telephone poles. That is concerning since these poles have been dipped in strong chemicals to protect them from insects and water damage and I cannot help but wonder what those chemicals do to these birds whose beaks come in contact with the wood repeatedly.

The pic above shows one in flight-they look almost like miniature hawks when they fly. SeEtta

Orbweaver spider in my yard-this one a "Cat-faced Orbweaver"

I found this neat looking orbweaver spider in my yard today. Eric Eaton, our local insect guru told me it is a "Cat-faced Orbweaver," Araneus gemmoides. It was striking to see how fast it could retreat to the safety of a shrub when I accidentally tweaked it's web. SeEtta

First American Dipper for the fall season

American Dippers come down the Arkansas River as it runs through Canon City, usually arriving in the fall and spending the winter. I have also for the past several years had 1-2 American Dippers stay for at least most of the summer with a pair with an aborted nesting effort a few years ago (racoons got into nest and presumably ate eggs or nestlings). This one was at west end of Riverwalk. SeEtta

Red-bellied Woodpecker at Lamar Woods

Far eastern Colorado is on the western edge of the range for Red-bellied Woodpeckers and probably the most reliable spot to find one is at Lamar Woods in Lamar,Colo. Though resident in this small wooded area they are not always out and about to be seen. This morning I found two of them that had been interacting but the other bird flew off before I could tell it's gender. SeEtta

First of the fall Williamson's Sapsucker in Canon City

Last year I found the first Williamsons Sapsuckers (both a male and a female) in Canon City in mid-October. In 2012 I found both a Williamson's and a Red-naped on Sept 22. I found this first of the fall season Williamson's today. It was feeding on one of the pine trees in a private yard in Canon City where I have found many sapsuckers in previous years.

In the pic just above the bird has it's nictitating membrane covering and protecting it's eye. SeEtta