Posts in Category: New Mexico
Grey-headed Junco
Dark-eyed Junco, Grey-headed race: Bear Canyon Trail, Santa Fe National Forest, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA — This Grey-headed Junco was busy in the leaf litter finding what appeared to be dried out grasshopper-like insects…they might have still been alive…but they were certainly dry looking. A fledgling was following the Junco around, and getting a good many of the bugs that were found. This bird was very confiding…it was busy at work while I photographed it for many minutes without flushing. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Rufous Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird: Randall Davey Audubon Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA — Rufous Hummingbirds do not live in New Mexico…which is to say they do not breed here — but they are often the dominant species during fall migration, arriving back in the state in August in high numbers. They are also aggressive in defending feeders and stands of flowering plants, so they are hard to miss. After years now in the east where we only have Ruby-throat hummers, I was happy to meet this gentleman at the Randall Davey Audubon Center, guarding a feeder that I never actually saw him use…though several female Rufous hummers were active at it. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent (600mm optical plus 2x Clear Image Zoom). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th. + 1 EV exposure compensation.
Cooper’s Hawk in deep
Cooper’s Hawk, Santa Fe Canyon Preserve, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA — Sometimes you just have to take the view you can get. 🙂 This Cooper’s Hawk was supper cooperative in that it stayed put for as long as I needed for photographs, and super uncooperative in that it stayed deep in the foliage and never presented an unobscured view. There was always a branch or a leaf (and often both) between it and my camera. I spent a good 20 minutes scuttling back and forth on the trail looking for lines of sight through the foliage, and managed some, I think, satisfying shots, but it was real work. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th. + 1 EV exposure bias.
Yellow is the color
Yellow is the color of the flowers of Arroyo Hondo Open Space in Santa Fe, New Mexico in August…or at least the predominate color. These are from a morning hike there with our daughter Anna. There were heavy thundershowers later in the day, so who knows what new treasures will bloom today. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. Assembled in FrameMagic.
Parking lot birding. American Robin in Santa Fe
American Robin, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA — Needs must. After breakfast at our hotel in Santa Fe I had a poke around the parking lots of the adjacent buildings to see what I could find for today. I saw a couple of uncooperative butterflies and this Robin singing in the top of a tree. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Cranes and sun dog…
On my one fly-in at the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (Socorro, New Mexico, USA) this year, we were graced by a sun dog in the sunset. It was subtle, but there. I waited patiently for at least a few Sandhill Cranes to fly by it on their way into the shallow pond for the night. It was low on the horizon and most of the cranes came in too high or too low. Patience was eventually rewarded. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 475mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Mini Panic, Bosque del Apache NWR
Socorro, New Mexico, USA. As I said in yesterday’s post, I never did see a full scale panic of Snow Geese this year at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge while I was there for the Festival of the Cranes. But I did see several mixed mini panics, involving both Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. And that is really odd because Cranes do not startle like that very often, at least in my limited experience. Generally Cranes are very deliberate, even about moving from one field to another. They go family by family after much apparent consideration. They don’t leap into the air in a bunch. Who knows what was up at Bosque this year. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Snow Geese flying
I realized this morning that I have not yet posted a close up photo of the other stars of the Bosque del Apache Festival of the Cranes from this year. As well as 14,000 Sandhill Cranes, between 30,000 and 40,000 Snow Geese winter at the Bosque. This is the first year I have visited Bosque without seeing a Snow Goose panic…when several thousand geese take to the air, calling and circling for between 5 and 15 minutes before settling. The geese were dispersed this year…feeding in several newly flooded fields, and not congregating in very large numbers in any single place. Perhaps that is why I saw no panics. I saw the geese rise in potential panics…but never enough at a time to pull the whole flock into the air. They always settled within seconds. ??? There were still lots of geese in the air as they moved in small flocks from field to field, so there were still opportunities to practice my birds in flight skills on Snow Geese, and I got some decent shots. You will want to view this one at as large as your screen allows…or maybe I should say, “I would like you to.” 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Lesser Goldfinch
It is not all birds in flight…not all Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese…at the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (Socorro, New Mexico, USA). This shot of a Lessor Goldfinch was taken right behind the Expo Tent in the Cactus Garden at the Visitor Center. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications (just testing how it worked for stationary birds). Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Cranes against the sunset
I have to get out for the sunset at least once during any trip to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (Socorro, New Mexico, USA) during the Festival of the Cranes. This year it was not the best sunset ever, but the Sandhill Cranes performed up to their usual excellent standard. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.