Autumnal Thoughts

Well, it seems the Hummingbirds have all gone south by now. We had left our feeders up until today just in case a late migrant came looking for a fill-up. We always hate to see them go but know they will return in 6 months.

The good news is that our favorite little family of Sandhill Cranes has returned! As I left to go out on an errand yesterday, the group of 4 flew right overhead as I drove off. They were headed for the community farm land located a few blocks away. They were coming in so they were only about tree top level. What a surprise and thrill to see them. For the last few years we've been referring to them as the "triplets" - Mom, Dad, and Baby, but it seems they have added another member. How great is that?! This year I plan to sneak down there and get some really good photos of them, like the ones I see in the newspaper all the time.

Other visitors we have seen lately are White-breasted Nuthatch, Scrub Jay, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Western Kingbirds. I believe there is also a Flicker and maybe some woodpeckers but we just haven't gotten a good look at them. Meanwhile, we are keeping a stock of peanuts available for them.

We always enjoy the change of seasons and the prospect of seeing new visitors to our humble Rancho. We hope that one day the cranes will stop in here for an up close and personal visit.

Stay tuned for more. . .

Its Hummer Time!

Well, I am happy to report that our first Black-chinned Hummer male arrived the evening of Tues. April 13th! He was a very thirsty little guy. A second male arrived on Thurs. 4/15, right on schedule. Then a female showed up on Friday. Very unusual so early. The three of them have been raising a ruckus ever since. I think that maybe one or two more have showed up by today but it is hard to be sure. We've had a rainy day and that is usually when birds show up. Anyway, we are just so thrilled to have them back!

We have also seen and heard our little American Goldfinches. They are in the trees but we haven't seen much of them on the thistle feeder yet. Love those sweet little Goldies!

I also saw my first Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly a couple days ago. They are so graceful and beautiful. It seems a little early for them though. The weather is still very unsettled and windy. Today the temp dropped to 41 with the rain and will be 38 overnight but by Saturday it is supposed to be back in the mid-60s! That's our crazy Spring in New Mexico.

More to come . . .

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Spring!

Yes, Spring is really here and the allergies are flying!

Speaking of that, the Sandhill Crane migration is finally slowing down. I saw some flights just a few days ago. I thought they had all gone by now.

About a month ago our male Red-winged Blackbirds returned. Last year it started with 6 or 8 males. This year we got 10-12! They are all over our yard and the one across the street. They are real seed hogs, too! I have to fill even the big feeders every day instead of every 2-3 days. They are pretty to watch and fun to listen to but they can be a bit annoying.

We also had some late season Mountain Chickadees show up and they just recently moved onward. We have been on the lookout for our favorite Goldfinches. They usually hang around all winter but not this year. I finally saw one male Lesser Goldfinch on the thistle feeder last Thursday. I hope he's here to stay and brings his family too.

Of course, as of April 1st we are keeping a keen ear and eye out for our namesake Hummingbirds! The first two feeders went up Saturday (4/3). They are the glass egg-shaped ones (made by GardenJewels, bought at Wild Birds Unlimited) that just fit in-between the iron bars on our windows. We put one on the kitchen window (south) and one on the window of our laundry room (east). Both can be seen from the kitchen. Usually, the first male will show up around sunset on a day that is very windy, after a storm. I'm watching!

The temps have finally reached the 60s this past week. I hope it stays. We've had enough cold this year. There have been flowering trees and bushes all over town since late February. Everyone has been worried that they might freeze but so far so good. Our usual last freeze date is April 15th.

Stay tuned . . .

Welcome 2010!

Well, it surely looks like Spring is coming soon, despite what the prognosticating ground hog or others had to say about it. The northward migration of the Sandhill Cranes started last week. The Canada Geese and ducks are also following. Our six male Red-winged Blackbirds showed up earlier this week. They are filling the air with their distinctive songs and cleaning out the feeders every day! Speaking of songs, there are so many beautiful spring songs from the Juncos and Bushtits. Last week or so I saw Mountain Chickadees that I hadn't noticed before. They have a sweet spring song, too. The Robins returned a couple weeks ago and they seem to be everywhere too. Today I noticed that the Mourning Dove male of our annual pair has arrived. I've also seen a Roadrunner hanging around this week. Our Ruby-headed Kinglet is also still around singing his spring song. The Ladder-back Woodpeckers have been here all winter enjoying our suet cakes. In the evenings we hear the great Grackle chorus singing to the sunset. I really love this time of year. It is so uplifting.

Hello 2009

I just want to check in to say that I regret that I have not been updating since last year. I got very sick in July 2008 and was ill for months. Since then I've been recovering and working on regaining my life. Hopefully, I will begin to update this blog before too long.

Take care. Keep checking on us from time to time.

Thanks!

Update on Hobbles, the Crow

Well, we have good news on Hobbles.

We had been putting out food scraps on a log at the bottom of the cottonwood tree that Hobbles climbed up. She would watch us put them there and come down to get them as soon as we went inside. ( I never did capture that on video.) On Wed 5/21, we noticed that the scraps from the night before were still there. We looked around but could not locate her in any of the trees or usual places she would hang out in the yard. Again, on Thurs 5/22, we could not find her. We kept watch for a couple more days, then we decided that she must have recovered and flew off to join her companions. She didn't even say "goodbye" but we believe she will return later to her temporary home.
Have a good life, Hobbles!

Happy Spring, Happy May

We hope your Spring is finally starting to pop. Ours is still trying to make up its mind. One day it is near 80 and the next it is in the 50s! And they call the wind “Annoying” here. But that wind has brought some newcomers to the Rancho. (Sorry I missed the March & April postings. We’ve been quite busy.)

Here are some of the recent arrivals:

Week of April 1st – A new sparrow showed up. He has a brown spotted back with a streaky breast and two gray stripes on his head. I looked through all four of my field guides and could not be definite about its ID. The closest I came was either a Song Sparrow or Savannah Sparrow. Still not really sure, but I did get lots of pictures. What do you think?

April 15 – We expected the hummers to arrive early here at the Rancho because they were seen up in the heights areas since mid-March but no such luck. Our 1st Black-chinned male arrived on schedule as he does every year. He usually is here for about a week establishing territory before anyone else shows up.

April 16 – The 2nd Black-chinned male arrived! This is unusual. Also there were a pair of Pine Siskins on the thistle feeder. They seemed very hungry after a long flight.

April 17 – Then came the White-crowned Sparrows, yes plural. There were at least 5 who showed up for the sundown feasting. Usually we only see about two here. We are indeed very blessed this year with multiples of species arriving. Also, there are a few more Hummers buzzing around here.

April 19 – Well, a rare visit today from a Hairy Woodpecker! We have had these before but not every year. Thank goodness I have a good camera now to capture the proof of all the new and rare visitors!

April 22, Earth Day – Today I planted my whiskey barrels with seeds for hummingbird and butterfly flowers, along with a wildflower mix. I must keep them watered everyday because the terrible winds are drying everything out. We must refill our birdbath and water dishes about 2-3 times a day now. I also noted that our Western Kingbirds are here. They have a delightful song. The Hummer population has exploded. We now have four feeders up and the wars have begun!

Update on Hobbles – Our injured Crow is still recovering in the pine tree. We determined that it is a female and we call her “Hobbles” for obvious reasons. We have been putting out birdseed and cracked corn for her. She spends most of her time high up (about 15 feet or so) in a Ponderosa Pine in the front yard. There is a nest in that area that our resident Robins have used for the past few years but not this year. They had to find another place since Hobbles has taken up residence. We have watched her walk- or, hobble - around the yard looking for seeds under the feeders and getting drinks of water at the ground bowls.

She also does the most amazing thing. She actually climbs up the trunk of our big Cottonwood tree and then hops up the branches to a place near the top. This is another of her resting places. She climbs using short hops and grabbing the bark with her claws. You would really need to see it to believe. Unfortunately I have yet to capture this on video.

Her wing seems to be getting stronger. She will do short flights between the trees and the roof. As long as we watch out for her we are confident she will make a full recovery. We are not exactly sure how she was injured but think maybe she had a run-in with a hawk.

May 4th - Today the first Green-tailed Towhees arrived. They haven’t been here for a few years but they are back now. This is turning into a great year for birds. We are not only getting the return of old visitors but in greater numbers than before.

Other Visitors:

This is a Great-tailed Grackle visiting our birdbath. The tail is so beautiful in flight, like a big fan. The Grackles come here in the evening to roost for the night. We love to listen to their songs and funny sounds.

Have you ever noticed the beautiful blue eye-ring of a White-winged Dove? I think it is a truly stunning color!

Ladderbacked Woodpecker.








This is a photo of the rarely seen Osprey that can be spotted in the sky around here.

Stay tuned for more photos of rare and unusual things at the Rancho. :-)

Spring is coming! (updated)

Updated Photos 02/28/08

Wake Up! Spring is coming!

From what we've seen lately, it surely seems that Spring will be here soon. Many of the trees and bushes are budding already. We've had a pretty mild winter with a few periods of really cold temps but not much precip. Mostly rain and some snow that doesn't last for more than a day or two.

One of the best indicators of Spring is the start of the migration season. This past week we've seen the beginning of it. First, we saw a flight of Snow Geese heading north on Monday. Then we saw some Sandhill Cranes flights on Wednesday.

But today (Sunday) was the big "Migration Day" with flight after flight of the Sandhills coming up the valley! The noise of them overhead woke us up early. I just had to run out with my camera. I took photos and videos. I tried to capture the sights and the sounds of the event.


There was wave after wave of birds coming up the valley. And the noise was very noticeable.

[I will be uploading the best video clip soon so you can hear the all the noise they make.]






Last week we had a first time visitor in the form of a few Brown Creepers. We've never seen them here before but they make a very sweet sound.


Another rare visitor was this Cockatiel who flew into the yard and hung around the area for a couple hours. He is gray with white edged wings and a yellow head. It was cloudy and windy that day but I could make out the crest feathers on the head and the long tail. I knew it wasn't the usual wild bird. I found it listed in the Sibley field guide. These are usually escaped pet birds.



We also got a little snow one night and these icicles formed on the feeder the next morning.





OTHER NEWS AND VIEWS

One of our biggest thrills was the return of our Red-winged Blackbird "Blackie" to the feeders. We have a resident Starling who has been fooling us for a couple years with his imitation of Blackie's call but we know the real one when we hear it! We have also seen a few Goldfinches at the thistle feeder, both American and Lesser types.




Here is a young American Kestral who had just buzzed the yard scaring all the little birds into the bushes.







This is that elusive Mountain Chickadee. He just does not want his picture taken.






So, that's all for now. Hope you enjoy all the photos.

More visitors at the Rancho

Here are a few more pictures of our current residents.


A Junco joins the House Finches on the feeder.









A new visitor is this Rufous-sided Towhee who hangs around with the Juncos getting seeds on the ground.




These are our two yard birds, "Chicken Little" and "Mazey" getting a drink after a breakfast of cracked corn and mixed bird seed. They also love suet ball snacks. They took up residence here about 4 years ago and we just treat them like all the other birds.





This Downey Woodpecker is busy hiding seeds and suet in the crevices of the tree trunk for a later treat.







Here is another picture of a Sandhill Crane, one of the local trio that is wintering here.





More to come, stay tuned...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008

Wishing you a great 2008!

Well, I have a few pictures of the birds currently in residence at the Rancho. There are a few that I have yet to get a pic of but I will keep trying.



This young Black-chinned Hummingbird just took a drink from the flower. He was getting ready for the long flight south for the winter.







A White-breasted Nuthatch perches on the suet feeder.









A Ladder-backed Woodpecker also comes to the suet.








An autumn Robin sings in the late afternoon.





This is our "Sneaky Squirrel" who thinks he can't be seen as he waits for a chance to get on the suet. We had to move the suet feeder and put a dome over it to keep him off it. [This photo was featured on a local TV newscast by the weather man.]

This is a long shot of the 3 Sandhill Cranes that hang out in our neighborhood. We call them the Three Amigos. We live in a rural area with many farm fields for the winter visitors to hang out in. Canada Geese are also very prevalent in the fields. I passed one field a couple weeks ago and there were at least 100 geese and one Sandhill!

My goal is to get some really good photos of the Sandhills. They are so impressive in person.

I would like to get your comments so I know that someone is looking in and appreciates my work. Until next time. :-)

Autumn 2007

Greetings from Rancho Colibri!

I've been pretty negligent of this blog this year so here is a summary so far.

One thing different this year is my new camera. It is a Canon PowerShot S3 IS digital. It came with a whole box of goodies including wide-angle and telephoto lenses. So far I am still just learning about it's basic operations. It is 6.0 MP with 12X optical zoom. It does a hundred different things I have yet to learn but I love this camera! I have taken some really incredible photos with it. I am still perfecting the technique for birds and should be posting some of those soon. Meanwhile, enjoy my favorite butterfly photo.

Despite sightings in the area a couple weeks earlier, our Hummingbirds got here to the Rancho the second week of April. We didn't seem to have as many as in past years but still enough to keep us occupied. They raised about six babies as far as we could determine. They left around the first week of October.

Right after that we got our first "winter" birds, White-breasted Nuthatches. We also have both Downey and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. Followed by White-crowned Sparrows. Then about a week ago we got a Mountain Chickadee. We haven't had one for a couple years. Yesterday three Juncos showed up in the patio around sunset! It is really exciting watching for all the newcomers. Also last week the migration of the Sandhill Cranes began. The annual Festival of the Cranes is in a couple weeks at the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge near Soccoro NM. We have also seen a couple Bald Eagles passing overhead just lazily drifting south over the Rio Grande.

Stay tuned...

HAPPY SPRING 2007!

21 March 2007. Today is the first day of Spring 2007, according to the calendar. But weather-wise, it has been Spring here since before the Groundhog said it would be early this year. And, to that point, here is the big news.

The Hummingbirds are here!

Yes, they have been spotted here in town (Albuquerque) over the past week or so. In fact, I was out working in the yard last week and swore that I heard a Broadtail hum overhead. I called the local Wild Birds Unltd. store to confirm this and she said yes, it is so. This is probably the earliest they have ever arrived here! (They are about one month early.)

My husband and I have been dreaming about them for the past few weeks. We just knew they would be coming early this year. In fact, he put out two feeders on Monday, just in case. We haven't had any come to the feeders yet, but we are watching them intently.

JUST A NOTE ABOUT THIS BLOG: I rather abruptly stopped blogging last summer. There were some problems with my computer connection and then other problems came up and I just didn't have time to continue the blog. I hope this was not any inconvenience for my regular, or not, reader(s). Anyway, I am back at it for this year. Happy Bird Watching!

Things are really buzzing!

I often get requests for photos and so here is one I took a few days ago of a male Black-chinned hummer at a window feeder. We have iron security bars on the windows and there are only a few feeders that will fit on them. We put up little wire perches under the tubes so that the birds can sit and rest while fueling up their tank.

New sightings. We spotted some White-crowned Sparrows in the patio last Saturday. At first, there were just a bunch of birds scratching in the ground, then we noticed their distinctive "hop and scratch" action and their striped heads. We have had both Lesser and American Goldfinches visiting the thistle feeder. There is one American male who is in mid-molt and he looks so pitiful, but he is eating lots of seed to help his new feathers come in quicker. We noticed that more hummers have arrived now. I had to put out a couple more feeders to accommodate them. Today, I thought I saw a male Broadtail hummer at one of the window feeders but he zipped off when he saw me. I didn't see him again to verify. I have been hearing a different wing-sound buzzing around in the trees that would seem to indicate the Broadtail.

Stay tuned...

It's Hummer Time!

We have been on Hummer watch since April 1st when we put out the first feeders. Well, it took until Saturday, April 15th for them to arrive! Just after breakfast I was at my sink and looked out at the window to see a Black-chinned Hummingbird male at the feeder. We were so excited. Then later in the afternoon my husband and I were outside working near the patio (where the second feeder is located) and we saw and heard the second male, as the two of them fought over that feeder. This is unusual for us because generally one male comes first and the next doesn't show up for a few days, so each has time to stake out their territory. But now the two of them are fighting for territory. It is very exciting.

This past week we also had the arrival of the Red-winged Blackbird and his mate. I first saw him on Thursday when he was at the seed feeder for almost ten minutes! I figured he must have just arrived and was really hungry. A little while later the female was at the feeder but she didn't stay as long. We woke up to his call this morning. It is so nice to hear. They didn't come here last year for some reason so we are very happy to have them again.

Stay tuned for more. . . .

HAPPY SPRING! Some Recent Observations

While the weather has been uncertain lately, Mother Nature knows it is Spring. Yesterday it was snowing (lightly) all day and today it was in the upper 50s. But the flowers and bushes are still blooming on schedule, the birds are singing their spring songs, and allergy season is full on.

There hasn’t been much bird activity to report around the Rancho. We’ve noticed that the migration of the Sandhill Cranes is about over. The Juncos seem to have left too. Wednesday I saw our Ruby-crowned Kinglet but he will probably be leaving soon. On Tuesday afternoon I heard and then saw that the Eurasian Collared Doves have returned. And on Monday there was a reported sighting of an Osprey! Ooops, that was not a wild bird but the military flying machine. Yes, we are the new home to those birds, stationed at Kirtland AFB.

We have been seeing the Robins and Starlings at the birdbath daily. Also, the Mourning Dove pair has been hanging around the patio beneath the thistle feeder and at the birdbath. The chickens have been on alert, sounding alarms as the hawk activity has picked up lately. That is the fate of the pigeon population that hangs out around the feeders here.

Speaking of the chickens, they have been quite sneaky. They both started their first nests early, and before we located them, they each had laid about a dozen eggs. By then, they were on their second nests and now seem to be about finished with them. Another two dozen. That’s a lot of eggs to toss out. We are watching to see where and when they start their next ones. It would be nice to get the eggs when fresh. Some day we’ll get a coop for them and then we won’t have this problem. Still looking for help/info on keeping laying hens. Oh well.

Happy Spring!

It IS Spring!

It truly must be spring because the Goldfinches are almost full yellow and they are singing their sweet mating calls. The Robins are everywhere. The Sandhills and Canada Geese have all flown north. The early blooming spring plants have been in flower most of this month. Someone must have switched calendars on us. For the last couple weeks we've been awakened by the call of the White-winged Doves and the soft cooing of the Mourning Doves. The Roadrunner has also been seen more frequently. Wonder who will show up next? Maybe hummingbirds will arrive a month earlier than usual. Hmmmmm....

Happy Year of the Dog!

Happy Year of the Dog!

Well, I finally have some bird news to report. First, our Mourning Dove pair showed up last Friday (1/27). They usually are the first to arrive in the spring. As I’ve been saying, the weather has been really mild this winter. And to prove it, the Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese have started to migrate! We’ve been seeing them since Thurs or Fri last week.

This week’s temps are in the upper 50s to low 60s. The birds just can’t stand it here anymore so they’re going north for some cooler weather. They don’t care what that old Groundhog has to say on Thursday. He doesn’t live here anyway.

We have been seeing more of the Goldfinch pair lately too. They are starting to get their colored feathers in. The Robins have been more active. We also suspect that the chickens will start laying again soon, so we are trying to keep an eye on them to spot their nests early.

Gong Hay Fat Choy!

Just checking in.

Well, a "snow storm" hit the state today, but guess what? We didn't get any here at the Rancho, which is typical. It did drop the temps into the 40s and it brought a Goldfinch to the thistle feeder. Not sure if he is the Lesser or the American type because the winter colorings are harder to distinguish. Anyway, I am still sure that things will start blooming within the month because everything is budding.

Hasta luego.

Happy New Year 2006!

Well, it is the New Year 2006 at last. The weather has been so mild that all the trees and bushes think it is Spring. I expect to see the forsythia bushes blooming soon!

Our bird population has not increased. Along with the usual residents, we have lots of Juncos, who seem to prefer eating from the thistle feeder. Today the Bushtits paid a visit. Occasionally we see Mr. Kinglet. We have also had a Robin coming to the bird bath this past couple weeks.

A few days ago, while crossing the Rio Grande, I saw a large flock of Sandhill Cranes on a big sandbar near the bridge, along with the usual Canada Geese and assorted Ducks. I was sooo surprised to see them there. It is the second time I’ve seen them relatively up close. The first time was at the drainage pond area a couple blocks down the road from our house. They truly are spectacular. The local newspaper has featured many beautiful photographs of these winter visitors. Today’s paper had a couple photos and articles telling people where to go to see these birds. They can be found in fields near the river and at the local Rio Grande Nature Center refuge. What a great place we live in.

Feliz Ano Nuevo!
Hasta luego.

The Cold Wind Blows!

Yup! it's the changing of the seasons. The winds have been blowing strong. The night temps hover in the 30s and even dropped into the teens this week. Still no precip though. Our front yard was a real mess due to the famed "Mulberry Leaf Drop" after the coldest night. It always amazes me how those trees just drop all their leaves at once after a frost. It looks pretty until you have try to walk through it, then it is just a mess to rake up. Oh well.

We worried about our two chickens in the cold and wind because they sleep in the wysteria vines by the front gate. There is no shelter there for them since the leaves all dropped. But they made it through the night, apparently OK.

As for new bird arrivals, we haven't noticed any more yet. They could show up any time though. We have seen the Sandhill Cranes visiting the nearby fields. We see, and hear, them when the come in for a landing and when they take off. Haven't gotten over to a field yet to view them and try to get photos. Hope to do that soon.

Happy December!