February 2025

This month's post has two major sections. The first is devoted to bird stories. In the second I share what I've been doing this month with drawing and sketching. 

Part One: The Birds

February marks the very beginning of courtship and nesting season for many of the year-round birds in Albuquerque, reflected in several of this month's observations. Some of the most interesting observations for me have been around vocalizations I had not heard or noticed before. 

A "New" Vocalization (How did I miss it?)

In January, when I was doing a bird survey with a friend in the Sandia foothills. We heard a far away "barking" vocalization that we couldn't place.  In early February I heard it again, at the Rio Grande Nature Center. Merlin IDd it as a Roadrunner, but I couldn't see the bird. 

 

 Flash ahead to February 21st, where I watched this Roadrunner climb a tree and emit the same barking sound, along with its familiar bill clacking sound. The sound I've always associated with breeding season is a dove-like song, which the male will sing from high in a tree. Is this barking sound also announcing territory and/or courtship? I don't know, but this Roadrunner did appear to be following a 2nd Roadrunner (top picture) that was on the ground, moving to a tree further to the south as she moved further south. 

On March 1, I was able to record a video of the Rio Grande Nature Center Roadrunner doing the same call. I wonder how it is that in all my years of living so close to Roadrunners, I hadn't registered this call before, and now I'm hearing it multiple times? I guess it's like when you learn a new word, and suddenly read it everywhere. 

 

 Curve-Billed Thrashers in the Hood-2/1/25 

On February 1, I was walking in the neighborhood when I passed a pair of Curve-Billed Thrashers. One was on the road, busily pecking at the asphalt. The other came out from a shrub, calling while moving closer and closer to the first. The pecking bird would move to another place on the sidewalk or ground whenever the 2nd one came close. They continued this for a long time while calling back and forth. Though I'm very familiar with Curve-Billed Thrasher calls and songs, these calls sounded different. (I wish I was able to upload an audio recording here.) This seemed likely to be early courtship behavior, and within a week, I was hearing Curve-Billed Thrasher song emanating from all the Thrasher territories I know of in my neighborhood. I didn't have my camera, so here's a quick drawing.

For some cool photos of Curve-Billed Thrasher February courtship behavior, see this earlier blog post from February 2021. Curve-Billed Thrasher Courtship Behavior

 

 

 

Tingley Bosque-2/7/25

Immature White-Crowned Sparrow.

Starting perhaps in January, the southernmost pond in Tingley Bosque Open Space has been overflowing to create some shallow water habitat to the south. This was the first day that I saw a mixed group of sparrows drinking from the shallows. Nearby a large mixed flock, White-Crowned Sparrow, Dark-Eyed Juncos, and Spotted Towhees, were scrabbling for bugs in the leaf litter, creating a most amazing sound.

At the north end of the bosque, a  Bald Eagle was sitting in a tree right by the north parking lot. After tolerating all the attention from the park visitors, the Eagle flew off towards the river.

 

 

 

 

 

Rio Grande Nature Center Wetlands Survey 

I continue to volunteer weekly doing the bird surveys at the Nature Center. Overall February was pretty quiet month, but we did get some cool ducks, including Common Goldeneye females (pictured below), Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, and Ruddy Ducks.

I don't always get many photos, but one Wednesday I managed to get my most darling photos ever of a male American Kestrel. 

 

 Meadowlarks at Los Poblanos Open Space-2/21/25

For many many years, the numbers of  Western Meadowlarks have been very low. My understanding was that something in the agricultural management of the place wasn't working for them. The last few years, numbers have seemed to be increasing, and this year their numbers exploded! On this day, I counted at least 60 foraging in the field in front of me. Many more were singing from other parts of the open space.  I wish I could  convey the astonishing sound of so many Meadowlarks singing at once.

Embudo Trail: 2/28/25

On the last day of the month, I visited a trail in the foothills. As I stepped out of my car, I was greeted by the loud song of the Cactus Wren, singing from a small tree at the edge of the parking lot. Further evidence that breeding season is on its way.  From top to bottom: Cactus Wren, Black-Throated Sparrow, and Canyon Towhee. 

                                                   

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Part Two: Sketches

I hadn't been doing much drawing or painting for awhile. In the last month or so, however I attended several gatherings with my sketching group where I found myself back in the groove with graphite pencil sketching. To keep me drawing, I decided to do one sketch a day, wherever I am when I find myself with about 30 minutes to spare. The idea is to not get all caught up in trying to find a great subject, but to just draw something that is in front of me. I've been carrying my sketch book and pencils in the car when I go out, and keeping them near me at home. This has been a fantastic way to get past perfectionism and just do it.  Here are a few of my sketches from the past month. 

From Sketcher's Sessions:

Still Life Session , a Visit to the Natural History Museum, and Drawing Each Other 

From My Daily Sketch Practice

       My Living Room During a Zoom Session;  the Rio Grande Nature Center Blind           

  View From Bed with a Migraine         Drawing from a New Yorker Magazine Photo

Goodbye February: Goodbye Sandhill Cranes-see you in November!

 

 

January 2025

It's been four years since my last post. I've decided to resurrect the blog for yet another use. I've decided to stay off Facebook for the time being, but still want a place to post my photos and bird experiences. I'm thinking of doing a monthly post summarizing the experiences of the month. We'll see how it goes.

I started the new year with a decision to not list all my bird sightings on e-Bird. I felt this would help me to relax and just enjoy whatever nature present, rather than having my attention split by using an app in the field. So far, I'm very happy with the results. 

Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Alameda Open Space

On January 3, I tested my "finding a needle in a haystack" skills, taking my scope to the river just south of Alameda Bridge to scan for rare gulls amidst the hundreds of Ring-Billed Gulls. I found a Herring Gull and this 1st year Lesser Black-Backed Gull, flanked by two Ring-Billed Gulls.

 

Though I was pleased with this rare gull finding success, the bigger highlight of the day was watching 15 Common Mergansers fishing in the pond just south of the parking lot. There was only one breeding plumage male, who you can see clearly by his green head in the 2nd picture. At first I thought all 14 of the others were females. Studying some of the differences in plumage, I think some were 1st year, or non-breeding plumaged males. The third photo here shows four that I believe were males.

 

 

 Bosque del Apache Christmas Bird Count, January 5

This was the first time I participated in this CBC, invited to join in with several folks from my wetlands/nature preserve survey team. I am not an early bird, so it was hard to head out so early in the dark and cold, but turned out to be a fun day with good people and good birds. Highlights included Wilson's Snipe, White-Throated Sparrow, several shorebirds, and this Great Horned Owl that we found roosting in a tree right outside our car window.

 A single American Pipit foraging at the water's edge was pretty fun, too.

Climate Watch Survey-Los Poblanos Open Space

On January 10, I did my part for this biannual Audubon survey. Target birds: Bluebirds and Nuthatches. I've been doing this count at Los Poblanos for several years, and the count does not yield Bluebirds every time. This year, they did not disappoint, as I was able to find both Western and Eastern Bluebirds.

 An American Kestrel was chasing a Say's Phoebe around in the same area as the Bluebirds

 and a solitary Sandhill Crane foraged very near to me in a field just south of the garden area. 

 Black-Crowned Night Heron-Tingley Beach

January is often a good time to find Black-Crowned Night Herons taking advantage of the presumably stocked main fishing pond. But this January 14 was the first time I saw FIVE of them, all lined up on along the edge of the pond. 

 

Sparrows: Los Poblanos and Tingley, January 28

It was a multi-sparrow day, including this Lincoln's Sparrow and Savannah Sparrow that perched together on a sunflower at Los Poblanos. Other Sparrows today included: White-Crowned, Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Dark-Eyed Junco, and a beautiful White Throated Sparrow at Tingley Bosque.Getting good photos of both the Lincoln's and the Savannah made my day. 

On my first pass by what I call the "raptor tree" at Los Poblanos, there were no raptors, but a gorgeous cloud background. On my 2nd pass, a Red-Tailed Hawk proved the name apt. 

 Candelaria Wetlands Survey

We had a good variety of ducks on our last survey of the month, January 29, including two of my favorites: one female Ruddy Duck and four Bufflehead.

 A Very Cold Month

I can't leave this January summary without giving the weather its due. We finally experienced winter with some very frigid weather. This sometimes made it challenging to keep getting out there, but I'm glad for every day that I did!
 

                                        Frozen Pond at Rio Grande Nature Center

 

 

 

 

Signs of Spring

Nothing says Spring like a kettle of Turkey Vultures! Where I live in Albuquerque this is one of the most reliable signs of Spring. In fact, a large group of about 100 arrived in my neighborhood on the first day of Spring, March 20. March 21 is my birthday, and is sometimes the first day of Spring. I met from friends for a walk in the Bosque in Corrales. Right where we parked there was a large roost of Turkey Vultures in the trees. Some of them stretched their wings to sun. Soon, most of them took to the air, flying in the circling motion called kettling. I thought it was a fantastic start to my Spring birthday.

 

And So it Begins: Again

  

 

This evening on my walk, Wild Curve-Billed Thrasher song was bursting forth from just about every single known nesting territory that I passed. 4 out of 5, actually. And I found a pair in three of the four territories. Last Spring around this time, I was just beginning to search for neighborhood Thrasher nests. How gratifying to be able to so quickly confirm activity in all but one territory this year. 

The first pair I encountered at the very first active nest I confirmed last Spring. As I approached, this one was sitting on a tree above the cholla where they nest last year, listening to another singing nearby. Then this one started to sing, at first a few soft notes, clearly a communicative response to the other. A 2nd Thrasher then landed on the ground below the first, gathered some grass, and took it to the nest. I didn't see where the 2nd Thrasher went. The 1st one (pictured), jumped up higher in the tree and began singing loudly and persistently. Another was singing across the street. I couldn't confirm that the nest-building Thrasher was the 2nd singer, but there was no singing while s/he was working on the nest. So, though not confirmed, I do wonder if this is an example of male/female call and response. 

Further down the street at the corner, another Curve-Billed Thrasher was singing loudly right next to their nest. 

Further on, in Mirraceros Park, I found another singer on the way in. On the way out, both were on top of this Cholla. One hopped down to the ground before I could get a picture. Soon they were both poking around the ground. As far as I could tell they were foraging, rather than gathering materials for their nest.

On my way home, the 2nd nest I found was quiet, but peeking into the cholla, I found both of the pair near the nest. 

Home again at dusk, the Curve-Billed Thrasher I've often heard from my balcony (nest site unknown) was still singing away. 

I'm looking forward to how the season unfolds. In my next entry, I hope to share my adventures in observing the nests and territories last Spring. Til then!

 

Curve-Billed Thrashers I Have Known: Part One

The Curve-Billed Thrashers in my neighborhood are getting more active, a sign of Spring on the way. A few mornings ago on my morning walk, I passed a Curve-Billed Thrasher singing loudly. I found him in the top of tree in a yard where Thrashers had nested last year. (Curve-Billed Thrashers are known to be very loyal to their nesting area, maintaining their territories all year.)   I heard another singing from further away, and found in a tree about a block away. They were close enough to each other that it appeared to be a call and response. Were they two males singing from respective territories, or a male-female pair singing to each other? I don't know, but the next day on my walk, two of them were together in one of the cholla near last year's nest. Again, tonight, I passed another Curve-Billed Thrasher's territory, and heard call-and-response song between two birds.

It has long been "common knowledge" that only male birds sing. However, more and more research now shows that this is more like a common misapprehension, perhaps based on implict bias and the fact that most research has focused on male birds. More recent research is showing many male-female pairs in North America that do call-and-response singing. And this is even more common in the Southern Hemisphere. 

So, an intriguing question. And it reminded me of an intriguing situation that I witnessed last March, not in my neighborhood, but in the near-by Sandia Foothills. There were a pair of Curve-Billed Thrashers. One was perched on top of a cholla, singing.

 

 In the next moment. A second Thrasher joined the first on the Cholla. With the expectation that the singer would be the male. But scroll through these photos that I shot in quick succession and observe the body language as the 2nd Thrasher engages in a sort of begging display. 

This courtship behavior also appears to be behavior we would normally associate with a male bird, who usually appears to be the one trying to court the female's favor, who has the power to choose "yea" or "nay." In the next moment, the "courting" bird of the pair moves off, as if she or he has been given the message to back off, as least for the moment.

Observing the lives of species other than our own often brings up more questions than answers. What exactly was happening here? Is this another example of birds not behaving according to the biases we expect? However perplexing. it was to me, it certainly wasn't to them. 

Meanwhile, about a 1/4 mile away, another pair were working together on building a nest. They took turns bringing material to the nest. One (I couldn't tell if they took turns on this) would get into the nest and scrabble around to shape it. Behavior that was easier to understand, but no less fascinating!

 

All this was happening right at the time that stay-at-home orders were called for New Mexico due to the Covid pandemic. I decided to turn my attention to finding Curve-Billed Thrasher nests in my neighborhood. But that is for my next entry.