02-SEP-2010
Pine Siskin #2631
During most of the summer, the birds did not go down to the pond, but recently they show a bit more interest in getting water. The Pine Siskins explore more than other birds do.
01-SEP-2010
Rufous Hummingbird Feeding #2544
The hummingbird activity seems a bit less frantic, but we still have a few lingerers. This Rufous Hummingbird is getting nectar from a Hibiscus (Rose of Sharon) plant.
31-AUG-2010
Western Tanager #2477
This bird has been visiting in the last two or three days, but not staying anywhere long enough to get a decent photograph. I am pretty sure she is a female Western Tanager, with yellow and white wing bars and a yellow beak. She is a definite sign that the birds know the days are getting shorter and the weather is not as hot as it has been.
29-AUG-2010
Western Scrub-Jay #2331
Western Scrub-Jays are quite common in northern New Mexico, but they do not come into residential areas that often. In the last few days, I have seen (and heard) flocks of them up high in the trees, however. When we first moved here about 35 years ago, they were quite common, but that was before we had houses built up all around us. Now we see them in the forests and open range, but they are not so often visible from the back yard.
28-AUG-2010
White-winged Dove #2205
There has been an increase in the number of White-winged Doves in the last month. For a while, the Eurasian Collared-doves would chase them away, but the only Doves making a nuisance of themselves right now are the White-winged Doves. This one has obviously had a problem, and has damaged his beak somehow. It does not seem to hinder him from getting seed out of the feeder or off the ground, though.
27-AUG-2010
MacGillivray's Warbler #2135
Here is a bird I have never seen before (!!), the first "new" visitor around the back yard in quite a while. I am about 80% sure it is a female MacGillivray's Warbler, based on the gray head, incomplete eye ring, pinkish-brown legs, bill color, and the sighting history in our area. This visitor flew low into some shrubs near the pond, flitted around for about 30 seconds, checked out the pond, and then was off to the neighbor's.
25-AUG-2010
House Finch #1993
Quite a few of the House Finches we are seeing now have a very light pinkish blush on their head and chest feathers. I assume these are first-year males, just beginning to develop their characteristic red feathers.
24-AUG-2010
King of the Pond #1504
American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
I know, this is not a bird. But it grew up in our pond from a tadpole, and has survived for several winters now. Sadly, there is a bird hidden in this picture. Yesterday, my wife saw this fellow with a half dozen feathers hanging out of both sides of its mouth. I do not know what bird it managed to catch, but I assume it is a fairly rare event. I need to watch a bit more closely when the birds go down near the water.
22-AUG-2010
Pine Siskin #1447
The Pine Siskins are by far the dominant birds of the last two weeks. They showed up all at once, up to a dozen or more at a time. Normally, our House Finches prefer sunflower seeds, and Lesser Goldfinches prefer the Nyjer thistle sock. Pine Siskins are not at all so choosy -- they congregate on both feeders, driving off the other birds, not so much by aggressiveness, but by sheer numbers. This one scattered off to a pine branch, which I found acceptable for a picture.
21-AUG-2010
Rufous Hummingbird #1416
Maybe this will be the last Rufous Hummingbird picture for a while; I feel a bit guilty using them so often. I have enjoyed our hummingbirds this year, and I can tell they are preparing to head south for the winter. I liked this picture because I was able to get the bird hovering when there was enough light to freeze the wings a bit more than usual.
19-AUG-2010
American Crow #1223
I did not know that American Crows ate olives from the Russian Olive tree. This noisy fellow was sitting up in the top of our neighbor's Russian Olive tree, trying to rip olives off and eat them. I guess he was pretty happy with himself, as we have had crows doing a lot of barking in the last few mornings.
17-AUG-2010
Pine Siskins, Normal and Green Morph #1050
I have been paying more attention to the details of the plumage of the large number of Pine Siskins that have been coming around in the last few days. I chose this picture because it shows fairly clearly how differently some of the birds are colored. The yellowish bird is presumably a green morph, supposedly very rare, although at least 25% of the birds here show definite yellowish feathers on their backs and breasts. We also have some Siskins whose wing feathers have a very large yellowish to off-white patch on them, at least four or five different individuals marked that way. See