15 November 2003
Update on change of seasons and birds. The usual residents here are: House Finches, House Sparrows, American Robins, feral Pigeons, Roadrunners, and American Crows. Of course Mazey and Chicken Little are still hanging around. We saw our last hummingbird on October 15th. Current visitors are: Scrub Jay, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-shafted Flicker, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Juncos, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Western Kingbird, and Bushtits. Just in the last few days a Great-tailed Grackle has returned and has been serenading us in the mornings. Also, last Saturday (11/8) we saw a Great Horned Owl during our 9:30 pm walk with the dog. The owl flew onto a light pole in the parking lot next door and sat there for about 10 minutes while we maneuvered closer to get a good look at it through our binoculars. Then it took off and landed on top of an iron cross on the church roof. It was just amazing to see this large bird who flies so silently! Also over the last couple weeks we have seen more Sandhill Cranes migrating overhead. Still waiting for the major migration day when we see thousands fly over in wave after wave all day. This weekend is the "Festival of the Cranes" at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (90 miles south of here). There are also Snow Geese, Canada Geese, assorted Ducks, Herons and others that spend the winter there. What a beautiful sight! Well, that's it for now. Have a great Thanksgiving! Visit the web site: Rancho Colibri at sabrarmijo.com
23 September 2003
Well, the long hot summer is finally ending! I see it has been about 4 months since I last reported.
Over the summer the hummers were busy fighting for the feeders and raising young. This year we don't have as many as usual. The ladies at Wild Birds Unlimited said it is due to the drought here. In mid-July, on cue, the Rufous hummers showed up in all their copper-colored glory. They offer more entertainment as they try to stake a claim to the feeders from the locals. Now, though, the numbers have sharply dwindled. The adults seem to have left around the first of September and now it is just the juveniles fattening up to leave in a couple weeks. We usually keep our feeders up until the middle of October to catch any late migrators.
Speaking of migrations, we have yet to see any of the great flocks of Canada Geese and Sandhill Cranes coming down from the north but I bet they will start soon. Albuquerque will be having its annual Balloon Fiesta starting October 4th and we usually see the migrating flocks then.
As to other bird news: According to the calendar (where I make bird notes), in June we had some Lesser Goldfinches come to the thistle feeder for a few days. The goldfinches tend to come and go during the year. In July, I see the Rufous showed up on the 19th. Then we had a couple of Broadtail hummers arrive on the 31st and they stayed just a couple days. They usually are found at higher elevations around here. We are in the river valley, so it is unusual for us to see them. We didn't see any of the calliope hummers this year. They usually pass through in early August and stay a couple days. On August 22nd, we had a pair of Downy Woodpeckers chasing each other around in the trees. On the 27th, a Scrub Jay arrived, squawking for his peanuts. The next day we had a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches chasing around in the trees. The Roadrunners had three chicks this year and they spent most of the summer practicing their hunting skills in our field and terrorized the local birds here.
Now in September, last week the woodpeckers began to arrive. On the 17th, I saw a Ladder-back Woodpecker and the next day I saw a Hairy Woodpecker. We have also noted the return of some Robins to our valley home. They usually move up in the heights and the mountains in the summer. The Mourning Doves had several babies this year. One day I counted 7 doves in the trees around us. But they have left us now too.
The Scrub Jays are favorites for their entertainment. They have been busily taking our peanuts and hiding them. This year we've had two chicken hens living in our yard. They came over from some neighbor down the block. One made a nest under our Pampas Grass and laid 16 eggs. She sat on them for a couple months before I finally removed them. Since there was no rooster around we knew there wouldn't be any chicks. We have named her Mazey from a cartoon I once saw about a crazy bird named Mazey (or was it a Dr. Seuss story?). She has pretty much stayed in our yard ever since. We can't find where she's roosting but she is up bright and early every day. The other one still goes home at night, as far as we know. We call her Chicken Little because she will run across the open spaces squawking like "the sky is falling." They sure are nice to have around though. They have been digging and scratching all over our yard and have really controlled the pests, like lawn grubs and snails! The other day Mazey had a big green tomato worm and wouldn't share it with Chicken Little who was very upset. Ahhh, life in the country.
Well, that's it for now. We'll catch up some more later. Hopefully, it won't be quite so long a time. TTFN
Over the summer the hummers were busy fighting for the feeders and raising young. This year we don't have as many as usual. The ladies at Wild Birds Unlimited said it is due to the drought here. In mid-July, on cue, the Rufous hummers showed up in all their copper-colored glory. They offer more entertainment as they try to stake a claim to the feeders from the locals. Now, though, the numbers have sharply dwindled. The adults seem to have left around the first of September and now it is just the juveniles fattening up to leave in a couple weeks. We usually keep our feeders up until the middle of October to catch any late migrators.
Speaking of migrations, we have yet to see any of the great flocks of Canada Geese and Sandhill Cranes coming down from the north but I bet they will start soon. Albuquerque will be having its annual Balloon Fiesta starting October 4th and we usually see the migrating flocks then.
As to other bird news: According to the calendar (where I make bird notes), in June we had some Lesser Goldfinches come to the thistle feeder for a few days. The goldfinches tend to come and go during the year. In July, I see the Rufous showed up on the 19th. Then we had a couple of Broadtail hummers arrive on the 31st and they stayed just a couple days. They usually are found at higher elevations around here. We are in the river valley, so it is unusual for us to see them. We didn't see any of the calliope hummers this year. They usually pass through in early August and stay a couple days. On August 22nd, we had a pair of Downy Woodpeckers chasing each other around in the trees. On the 27th, a Scrub Jay arrived, squawking for his peanuts. The next day we had a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches chasing around in the trees. The Roadrunners had three chicks this year and they spent most of the summer practicing their hunting skills in our field and terrorized the local birds here.
Now in September, last week the woodpeckers began to arrive. On the 17th, I saw a Ladder-back Woodpecker and the next day I saw a Hairy Woodpecker. We have also noted the return of some Robins to our valley home. They usually move up in the heights and the mountains in the summer. The Mourning Doves had several babies this year. One day I counted 7 doves in the trees around us. But they have left us now too.
The Scrub Jays are favorites for their entertainment. They have been busily taking our peanuts and hiding them. This year we've had two chicken hens living in our yard. They came over from some neighbor down the block. One made a nest under our Pampas Grass and laid 16 eggs. She sat on them for a couple months before I finally removed them. Since there was no rooster around we knew there wouldn't be any chicks. We have named her Mazey from a cartoon I once saw about a crazy bird named Mazey (or was it a Dr. Seuss story?). She has pretty much stayed in our yard ever since. We can't find where she's roosting but she is up bright and early every day. The other one still goes home at night, as far as we know. We call her Chicken Little because she will run across the open spaces squawking like "the sky is falling." They sure are nice to have around though. They have been digging and scratching all over our yard and have really controlled the pests, like lawn grubs and snails! The other day Mazey had a big green tomato worm and wouldn't share it with Chicken Little who was very upset. Ahhh, life in the country.
Well, that's it for now. We'll catch up some more later. Hopefully, it won't be quite so long a time. TTFN
20 May 2003
The weather has been just awful lately. Too windy!! Then the temps rose almost to 90. Today, a cold front dropped the temps to the 70s and the winds howled last night. On the bird front, there has been some excitement. On Friday, May 2, we had a Stellar's Jay show up. He was in the trees in the patio and front yard squawking like crazy. I showed him where the peanuts are but never saw him go for them. He was only here about a day and a half. My husband caught him on video. He is an unusual visitor here as they usually are found in the mountains. The lady at Wild Birds Unltd. said that they are moving into town because of the drought. I hope he comes back because he is really pretty. The Black-chinned Hummingbirds are really making a lot of noise with the males chasing the females all over the place. Haven't spotted any nests being built yet. I expected more birds by now but maybe this crazy weather is holding them back. Just last Friday (5/16) we had a Western Flycatcher hopping around in the trees. We have never noticed this one before. I heard a different call and searched the trees until I spotted it. Will keep my ears and eyes open for this guy again. Later that day there was a Pine Siskin on the thistle tube. Then yesterday (5/19) we had the Goldfinches, both Lesser and American pairs visit the thistle tube. We love to see them because they are so colorful and sing so pretty. Also this past week the female Red-winged Blackbird has been coming to the feeder for seed. We assume she is now feeding her young. There are also two males that come to the feeder.
29 April 2003
Well, we've been busy. More hummers have arrived and we put out a few more feeders. On Sunday (4/27) I saw the Ringed Turtle Dove again! He is still here so I guess he likes us. The White-winged Dove is also still around. I heard a strange cooing outside the window and finally spotted him on the wire. Now I know what he sounds like. The Goldfinches (both Lesser and American) have returned in their glorious yellow and black coats. They are so spectacular to see. And their songs are so beautiful.
14 April 2003
Here is our first entry for this season. Well, last Wednesday (4/9), our first Black-chinned Hummingbird male arrived! Then, on Saturday, a second male arrived. So now it begins--the Hummingbird Wars! We are really so excited to have our favorite birds, the Colibri, return.
Also on the Rancho we have nesting pairs of Mourning Doves, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins and American Roadrunners (the state bird of New Mexico!) plus the usual House Finches and House Sparrows. We also have 2-3 brown Chickens that visit our yard everyday. They hang out with the Pigeons (Rock Doves) and feed on the ground under the bird seed feeders. Speaking of doves, we also had a White-winged Dove arrive last week. I haven't seen it for a couple days. Last Friday it was on the power lines cooing and that was the first time I'd ever heard its call.
About a month ago, we had an invasion of Robins. One morning we counted at least 30 of them sitting in the trees around us. But now we just have the residents left. On 3/30 we also were visited by Cedar Waxwings for the first time (that we noticed). They were so beautiful and so sweet sounding. They travel in flocks and we counted about 20 in our tree. We hope they will return next year. Also, this day, we spotted a "new" dove which turned out to be a rare visitor here. It was a Ringed Turtle Dove, which, according to all our field guides, is only found in the Los Angeles basin area! So, we were really excited about this. It was here for at least 3 days and we got it on video tape for proof!
We are also awaiting the return of the Lesser and American Goldfinches in their full color. We had five Lessers hanging around through the winter and they were just getting their new color when we last saw them a few weeks ago. The usually return after the babies are born.
Also on the Rancho we have nesting pairs of Mourning Doves, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins and American Roadrunners (the state bird of New Mexico!) plus the usual House Finches and House Sparrows. We also have 2-3 brown Chickens that visit our yard everyday. They hang out with the Pigeons (Rock Doves) and feed on the ground under the bird seed feeders. Speaking of doves, we also had a White-winged Dove arrive last week. I haven't seen it for a couple days. Last Friday it was on the power lines cooing and that was the first time I'd ever heard its call.
About a month ago, we had an invasion of Robins. One morning we counted at least 30 of them sitting in the trees around us. But now we just have the residents left. On 3/30 we also were visited by Cedar Waxwings for the first time (that we noticed). They were so beautiful and so sweet sounding. They travel in flocks and we counted about 20 in our tree. We hope they will return next year. Also, this day, we spotted a "new" dove which turned out to be a rare visitor here. It was a Ringed Turtle Dove, which, according to all our field guides, is only found in the Los Angeles basin area! So, we were really excited about this. It was here for at least 3 days and we got it on video tape for proof!
We are also awaiting the return of the Lesser and American Goldfinches in their full color. We had five Lessers hanging around through the winter and they were just getting their new color when we last saw them a few weeks ago. The usually return after the babies are born.