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