Explorations in New Mexico.
Last Tuesday (April-11) I left my friends in Thatcher, looking forward to spending some time with friends Debbie Merrill and her husband James. I met Debbie when I was working on a book for the San Diego Natural History Museum (the San Diego County Mammal Atlas). My role for the book was to provide images … Read more
Invited to my friends’ New Mexico digs in Apache Creek, I drove east from the Safford/Thatcher region of Arizona. My route carried me through the upper basin of the Gila River and past Glenwood, home of the famous “Cat Walk”. I’ve toured the Catwalk in the past, and wasn’t planning to explore there on this … Read more
In April 2020, as I was ending my first Texas birding adventure, I called my friend Jerry in Albuquerque and told him I was headed his way via Roswell. He suggested I visit the Bitter Lake NWR, and I’m so glad he did. Cassin’s Sparrows and Scaled Quail were the highlights for me on that … Read more
Halfway between Albuquerque and Bosque del Apache is the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex – Bernardo Unit, where cranes and geese are now visiting more than at Bosque. My friend Jerry, formerly a docent at Bosque del Apache, for years has been singing the praises to me about this state run reserve 52 miles south … Read more
There is a small reserve on the northwestern edge of Albuquerque I have enjoyed since some of my earliest visits to the region. It is the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. Within its grounds are woodlands (called a bosque), open fields, and wetlands with ponds. My previous visits to this reserve have been during … Read more
Update: Folks with better eyes and ID skills than I have pointed out that there are some Gray-Crowned Rosy-Finches among the Black Rosy-Finches in some of my images. Another friend suggested some of my juncos from the morning are Red-Backed (J. h. dorsalis), rather than Gray-Headed (J. h. caniceps). I tend to agree with her. … Read more
A friend of Jerry’s advised him that there were many cranes grazing in his Corrales neighborhood, so we drove there on Wednesday to investigate for ourselves. Jerry’s friend was right! However, cranes were not the only digital prey we captured. We also found an American Kestrel, American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, Say’s Phoebes, a Spotted Towhee, … Read more
Not everything you find at the zoo is captive. At least that has been my experience at several zoos I’m familiar with. As an example, the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, now called San Diego Zoo Safari Park, has created an ideal habitat for nesting egrets and Ibis and makes a great place to … Read more
My first awareness of the art of falconry came as a young lad in elementary school when I read the Hardy Boys Mystery series and found the story The Hooded Hawk Mystery. Reading this book sparked in me, a fascination with falconry, and it led me to more research about the rigors and discipline that … Read more
I first visited Bosque del Apache in August 2003. Having heard of its legendary assembly of winter geese and cranes, I found a means for combining work in Santa Fe with pleasure at the Bosque. Summer is not a season most visitors come to the reserve, because the winter extravaganza begins nearer Thanksgiving and lasts … Read more
