Two new birds this afternoon for my yard list, both in the neighbor’s elm tree (denuded of leaves, much easier to see the birds): a Red-naped sapsucker and a Ruby-crowned kinglet. The kinglet was an especially fun find, because I kept seeing it over the last few weeks, but never got a good enough look …
The leaves are falling away from the trees out back, and Sunday afternoon I spied a nuthatch hopping up and down the trunk of the neighbor’s elm, poking around for bugs. I think it was the red-breasted variety, though I didn’t get a good look. (Picture courtesy Cornell bird lab folks.)
I swear I got a good look at it. But it’s really not supposed to be here. Is I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a terribly experienced birdwatcher. But lately I’ve spent a lot of time at it, making lists using eBird, keeping close track of my yard birds, and dragging the books and binoculars with …
roadrunner Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. Roadrunners are common in Albuquerque, but we don’t see them too often in our yard. This afternoon I was sitting out in the back eating lunch when I noticed this guy. He’d been there for a while before I spotted him, sitting absolutely still. They don’t seem to mind people …
Oak Flat watering hole Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. Lissa made a great discovery yesterday morning while we were walking in the woods at Oak Flat, in the Manzano Mountains east of town. The big thing in the background of the picture that looks like a UFO is a big cistern, with a flared top to …
I awoke before dawn this morning to the sound of the neighborhood birds waking up. It’s still warm enough to leave the windows open at night, but cool enough that we’ve started adding blankets to ward off the 5 a.m. chill. This morning there was a bird sound unusual enough to get my attention. They …
Free Iris Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. It took about 10 minutes from the time Lissa put up the “free iris” sign this morning until the first neighbor drove up to grab a bag. The iris bed has gotten a little out of control, and Lissa and I skipped our Saturday morning walk to work on …
If I was a robin, here’s what I would do on a cool, late summer dawn in Albuquerque, as I was headed south. I’d get my friends and fly up to the highest tree in the neighborhood, that big elm over there, and flutter around a little bit to keep warm as the sun just …
My bird of the week (bird of the day?) is the Lazuli bunting, a lovely little blue seed-eater that showed up at the feeder this morning. According to both Sibley and the Cornel bird site, we live at or just beyond the southern edge of Lazuli bunting’s summer range, so what we’ve really got here …
I’m not a serious birder, but I’ve gotten totally hooked lately on eBird. I heard about it from Chris Witt, the UNM ornithologist I wrote about last month. It’s run by Cornell and the Audubon Society, and provides a platform for birders to enter their observations. It makes it easy to keep your lists, and …