Clark's/Western Grebe Hybrid! Santa Fe County - April 25, 2014

My friend Tom Eglehoff is the Golf Superintendent at Las Campanas Golf Course here in Santa Fe County, NM. I got a call early on the 25th that he was pretty sure he had a Clark's Grebe. This would not only be a first for Santa Fe County, but my 300th county bird -  a huge deal!

I raced over there and sure enough, a beautiful Clark's Grebe! It wasn't quite right as it had just a little smudge of black below the eye and the black cap came right down to the eyes, The bill didn't seem quite as yellow as it should be and the business with the line between the eye and the bill wasn't quite right. Finally it seemed that the black stripe on the back of the neck was too thick for Clark's.

Despite the above anomalies we really thought it was a Clark's. It called a few times giving the classic single note "kreeeeek" call. 

Tom and his son Wyatt and I saw it again on Saturday morning, the 26th, before going to the New Mexico Ornithological Meeting in Albuquerque. We showed the pics to several of the state's top birders and they all immediately said it was a hybrid. Since then others have echoed the same opinion. So there you have it - it's a Clark's/Western hybrid!

So still at 299 county birds and holding! 

Take a look for yourself!

Clark's/Western Hybrid

Clark's/Western Hybrid

Clark's/Western Hybrid

Evening Grosbeak, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, and more today at a Birder's Haven - 4-19-14

I spent some time birding today at a beautiful vacation rental house which is a birder's paradise. Located near Pecos, NM (close to Santa Fe) it is a perfect place for birders to stay. The house is stunning and has everything any birder could need. The grounds, which are beautiful and heavily forested, host a wide variety of birds. There are both hummingbird feeders as well as seed feeders. There are also natural rocks with pockets filled with water. One extra large rock is fittingly called Raven Rock and it didn't disappoint as several Common Ravens fought over the ample pool of water it held. There is a spacious patio that is a joy to hang out on. Today I sat there as birds came and went from the feeders and seemingly did not give me a notice. In the front of the house there is a fair-sized meadow. Many of the birds I observed today were working the edge of the woods along this meadow. Other birds, such as American Robins and Chipping Sparrows fed in the lush green grass. Other birds I observed include Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Pine Siskin, Evening Grosbeak, Mountain Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Steller's Jay, Townsend's Solitaire, and Dark-eyed Junco. This is a great place to stay for any reason. 

Here is the link: http://santafevacationrentals.net

Evening Grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Mountain Chickadee at on of the Vacation House's feeders

Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Santa Fe County, April 2014

Not the most spectacular bird on the planet, but I think the Northern Rough-winged Swallow is more than worthy of an early spring pic!

Nothern Rough-winged Swallow taking a break next to a local pond.

Marsh Wren New Mexico Style - 4-14-14

I found this Marsh Wren in some thick willows along a pond here in Santa Fe County the other day. Working along edges of ponds with dense thickets is a good way to find this skulker during migration  here in northern New Mexico.

Marsh Wren in a willow thicket

Cactus Wren - My 300th Santa Fe County Bird!

Once again I was at work when I heard about a pair of Cactus Wrens that Jim Walters had found the day before - with nests! 

This would be a major milestone in birding here in Santa Fe County, my 300th species! Needless to say I was a bit anxious, but finally left work at 5:00 P.M.

It's a long haul from Pecos, NM to where the wrens were in western Santa Fe County, but I managed to get there in around 40 minutes :-)

My friend, Wyatt Eglehoff, was waiting for me and we headed in where the wrens were. They are on private property so Mr. Walters had to escort us in. We caught up with Jim and after a short period were able to find a singing male Cactus Wren - #300!

We saw both wrens and a nest. 

I started keeping a Santa Fe County list on November 22, 2009, but didn't live here until October of 2010, so I am amazed at how quickly I achieved this lofty goal. 

What is next?!

Number 300 - a male Cactus Wren!

Their nest.

New Mexico's First Record of Northern Wheatear! 4-9-14

I was at work when I got a series of frantic calls from my friends telling me that there was a Northern Wheatear near Fort Sumner, NM, about 145 miles from my house. The calls poured in starting around  8:00 a.m. Well it was a frantic 5 hours - BELIEVE ME - but I was finally able to escape from work, thanks to my co-worker Patricia, around 1:20 p.m.

I raced home, changed my clothes, grabbed some stuff in case I had to stay overnight, loaded up my camera and scope and I was off by just after 2:00. I really didn't speed....too much and arived at the the wheatear site at 4:15.

The bird had been seen by many people throughout the day, but it certainly was nowhere in site when I arrived. Soon, several more birders showed up and we scoured the area. At 5:21 the wheatear popped up on a fence post and actually stayed put long enough for everyone to get great long scope views of it!

This was my 390th bird for NM and 748th for the ABA area. What a great adventure. There were lots of other cool birds in the area too like Long-billed Curlews, Merlin, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, American Avocets, and a Greater Roadrunner.

I left at sunset after getting one last long satisfying look and more pics. I took my time getting home and arrived at 9:30 p.m. Back to work the next morning :-)

Northern Wheatear near Bosque Redondo Lake Park, NM

American Avocets near sunset at Bosque Redondo Lake Park

Great-tailed Grackle at Bosque Redondo

Yellow-headed Blackbirds near Bosque Redono Lake Park

First Evening Grosbeaks Since Last Fall - my yard 4-14-14

Twenty-five Evening Grosbeaks suddenly showed up this past Monday at my feeders. I had not seen a single one since last November. They only stayed for the morning although a female is still present as of 4/17.  My wonderful Aunt Jean (who got me interested in birds) used to call them "Hungry Louies!" What a great and appropriate name. That's what I've always called them too - perfect!

Evening Grosbeaks in my yard

The Aptly Named ROCK Wren! Santa Fe County 4-14-14

The Rock Wren!!

Prairie Falcon in Flight and Prairie Dog Keeping a watchful eye - Santa Fe County, NM 4-15-14

Prairie Falcons are uncommon in Santa Fe County and sometimes pretty rare. I was surprised when I saw one sitting on a telephone pole as I was driving around in southern Santa Fe County. As is usually the case they are fairly skiddish and true to form this one immediately took off as I approached in the car. I jumped out as fast as I could, but he was already speeding away. All I got was this horribly over exposed and blurry shot, but I'll take it! You can at least see his dull side-burn and the dark auxiliary.

While walking back to the car I noticed this prairie dog watching carefully. I think he was amused!

Prairie Falcon moving fast!

Curious Prairie Dog.

Ruddy Duck Diving Series and Violet-green Swallows - Santa Fe County, NM 4-14-14

After a cold blustery and snowy morning the afternoon turned out to be clear and mild. I headed over to west side of Santa Fe and a series of ponds near Las Campanas Golf Club. I sat by the pond trying to get the perfect pic of a Violet-green Swallow. I failed on the swallow, although I think you will be able to see why they have that name, but did get some cool shots of this male Ruddy Duck.

I knew when the male was going to dive because just over a second  before he would lower his head and flatten out his tail - atually below the water as you will see.

Check out the image of his "footprint." There are two very noticeable "bumps" of water where his powerful legs and feet are pushing up water as he dives deep. He would stay down an average of 27 seconds. Actually this was pretty consistent.

Lowering his head

Cocking his tail and pointing bill straight down

There he goes! Note how he is pushing down with his tail to lift body up.

Heading straight down.

Just a bit of the tail and the two water bumps!

The "footprint" including the two bumps of water pushed up by the feet.

Violet-green Swallow showing how it got its name!

Violet-green Swallow - a gorgeous bird!

Black-throated Sparrows! Santa Fe County, NM 4-16-14

Stopped by a large field near my house yesterday where there are large dense patches of cholla cactus and four-winged saltbush - perfect for Black-throated Sparrows!

Sparrows are one of my favorite families of birds. I love he nuances and intricate designs, but I also love bold gaudy ones like this bad boy!

White-throated Sparrow at Pecos River Cabins today - San Miguel County 4-12-14

Stopped by the Pecos River Cabins today in Pecos, NM (San Miguel County).  I got there at 12:15 and it was really windy with gusts up to 30 mph. Despite the wind I recorded 26 species in my short stay including lots of Violet-green Swallows and both American and Lesser Goldfinches. There was also one Pine Siskin and a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. Pecos River Cabins is both a great place to stay and bird. The riparian corridor along the Pecos river is excellent for a wide variety of migrants, breeding birds, and permanant residents.

Here is the link, check it out! http://www.pecosrivercabins.com

Female Hairy Woodpecker

Male Hairy Woodpecker

The best bird wings down was a brilliant male full-breeding plumaged White-throated Sparrow - a San Miguel County bird! One of the HUGE perks of birding this property is a long stretch of the Pecos River with lots of understory and towering Cottonwoods. There is also a very active creek running through the east side of the grounds with a variety of habitat, including a shrubby fence line where the sparrow was.

Male White-throated Sparrow

Western Scrub-Jay eating a big mouthful of Evelyn Dabb's Mix in my back yard (Santa Fe County, NM)

This handsome fellow who one day become a separate species (Woodhouses's Jay) visits my yard frequently to get big mouthfuls of the incomparable Dabb's mix. I have a recipe for it somewhere on my blog, but I would be happy to re-post it. Birds love it! Also it doesn't get all gooey and nasty.

Western Scrub-Jay

Franklin's Gulls and Vesper Sparrows in Southern Santa Fe County - 3-31-14

I was cruising the agricultural fields the other day and came across these two Franklin's Gulls. They are so elequent in breeding plumage! They were hanging out with a Ring-billed Gull, also handsome, but not quite up to snuff with the Franklin's :-)

The Killdeer are returning in big numbers also, so I included a shot of one hanging out "with" the gulls.

Other interesting arrivals last week were good numbers of both Vesper, Savannah, and Lincoln's Sparrows and lots of Say's Phoebes. I actually had a Lincoln's Sparrow in my yard yesterday (April 1st).

Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull (showing white spots on ends of primaries)

Ring-billed Gull (sorry not a great image)

Franklin's Gulls (pretty far away)

Vesper Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow showing white outer tail feathers

Vesper flying showing white tail outer feathers and blackish tail

Lincoln's Sparrow in yard on April 1st