Survey Says!

A flock of Twenty Two Turkey's visits regularly
..this is a "lookout"

The Eastern Long Island Audubon Society (ELIAS) sponsors feeder surveys throughout the year..In the spring and summer I am often too busy gardening to participate..but in the depths of winter what better thing to do than watch the flights of fancy outside your window..or to be more exact..outside the deck and patio doors....

There are three Downy woodpeckers..two males and a female..Don't aske me how they sort that out..their  whirring wings signal their arrival and their staccato chirps kep me company..

Hello!

Who me?

Can you find us in this tree? Look high and low!

The little female flew into a door one day, despite our spider web decals..but she was rescued and flew away...to be seen again each and every day

Hurray!

A femail Hairy Woodpecker visits too

Sometimes she has some preening to do..

The two Red Bellied Woodpeckers are shy..

A Northern Flicker occasionally comes by
..see his yelow shafts?

There are a pair of White Breasted Nuthatches

Three Red Breasted Nuthatches.

Three Titmice 

Two Song Sparrows..isn't nature's camouflage grand?

Four Black Capped Chickadees.. they like the bare Buddleia
whilst they crack open sunflower seeds

This is not a bird.. Baby it's cold outside!

We feed them too!

Fluffed against the cold..
there are a pair of Carolina Wrens

Of course there are Dark Eyed Juncos..
I counted 22 during the blizzard.

We got 30" of snow February  8th

Female Junco in the snow..

Have I mentioned Mourning Doves?
At least five regulars..

Sharing.

Song Sparrow..see my streaky breast
and  center spot?

                                                                        

In all my blue glory! Five of us come for peanuts!

I am looking towards spring!

Birds  also surveyed, but who did not properly pose..A Pair of Northern Cardinals, a Cooper's Hawk and a Sharp Shinned Hawk ( no one was eaten ...).

The love for all living creatures is the most noble aspect of man~ Charles Darwin

Festival of the Cranes

I finally made it to the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, along with 42,000 Snow Geese, 6,500 Cranes and 2 Eagles, but who's counting..Who was counting? 

Having never been to New Mexico, the entire landscape was alien, so along with birds to be seen there was landscape literacy to be obtained.. Of course there is never enough time..and so many birds..and a plethora of interesting festival activities.. not all at the refuge & not all birding..This post focuses on  birding activities..

First up was a bird-spotting cruise on Elephant Butte lake..yes, butte..stop laughing... This is a man-made reservoir used by New mexico, Northern Mexico and Texas.

That is an Elephant's Butte in the distance.

The birds were mostly in the distance too, and since water levels were very low, we couldn't get much closer.. We spotted birds..lots of Eared Grebe spots,  a Great Blue Heron or two surveying the scene from far, far away..and White Pelican dots..There were also thousands of Western Grebes and some Clark's Grebes too (I was told)..

Western Grebe near the dock, willing to pose.

After the cruise, lunch and a guided riparian (river) walk along a Rio Grand tributary. Cactus Wren, Canyon Wren, Bewicks Wren, Ladder Back Woodpecker and Phainopepla were all life-birds..

Water levels were low.

Prickly Pears were high in the air.

Life bird! Phainopepla.

Meanwhile, back at the refuge..

Some of the 42,000 Snow Geese.

A Snow Goose Blue Morph.

Fly By...

                                            Fly In... 

Sandhill Cranes at Sunset.

If you go to this festival..do not take a bus tour.. We carefully chose one we thought would bus us to walk/watch.. Like going to the fly in..but we were only let out twice..and that is frustrating..especially for photographers..

From the bus....

Allowed out on a dock for some ducks.
Female Shoveler.

Another release..for the Sandhill Cranes at a corn field..seems these birds do not just volunteer for the festival, but are lured by corn planted expressly for them..and of course they are helped to survive.

                        Meet the Crane family.

Bye bye!

That afternoon I hopped into my car and took a whirlwind tour of the refuge on my own..Here are some highlights..

Ha, ha yes! Just who I wanted to see!

An  odd duck.. Blue headed Mallard.

Sleepy Shovelers.

Beautiful Pintails.

                                               Time flew...

The best bird was in the parking lot. Gambel's Quail.

The bird of time has but a little way to fly, and lo, the bird is on the wing~Omar Khayyam, "The Rubaiyat"