I'm still working on the photos from Bosque del Apache and Sandia Crest, so please keep coming back for Sandhill Crane, Snow Geese, Ross's Geese, and the Rosy-Finches.
Those are great birds, but a trip to the southwest could arguably be defined by this one bird with a name that is impossible to say -
Pyrrhuloxia - a bird which may arguably "out-beauty" its relative the Northern Cardinal (both
Genus Cardinalis)
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| Pyrrhuloxia |
Pyrrhuloxia combines terms for two birds - Pyrrhula (bullfinches) and Loxia (crossbills), terms which come from Greek and Latin and mean flame-colored, or red, and crooked. So you now have a new trivia answer, should you ever need one.
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| Pyrrhuloxia |
Both meadowlarks are found year-round in New Mexico, according to the range maps in my guides. I have very little experience with the Western Meadowlark, but based on the yellow malar, I am identifying this one as
Western Meadowlark. If anyone with more experience thinks otherwise, please tell me (and why) - this is a continuing learning experience.
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| Western Meadowlark |
Gambel's Quail is always a treat on a southwestern trip. Love the plume!
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| Gambel's Quail |
Last winter in Vermont, I tried to photograph wintering Horned Larks. They are quite common, especially around barns and in hay fields. I did not get any photos that I would care to share. But, at White Sands National Monument, this Horned Lark posed very cooperatively. (Against the white sand, I can pass this lark off as a wintering
Vermont bird if necessary.)
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| Horned Lark |
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| Horned Lark |
As of January 1, this young Red-tailed Hawk made the transition from "hatch year bird" to "after hatch year bird." Hopefully, it is on its way to becoming a healthy breeding adult.
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| Red-tailed Hawk |
Good Birding!
