October 2026

 

October began with the end of my trip to Taos. I posted about the trip last month. Here are a few paintings I did for my travel journal after I got back, based on photos I took during the trip.

It's Albuquerque in October, so I have to give a nod to the Balloon Fiesta. I had several encounters with balloons during my walking/birding peregrinations.

Mid-October, the RGNC bird survey group did a tour of the silvery minnow refugium down in Los Lunas. I had never heard of it until Cathy decided to set up a tour for us, but I have been curious to know what is happening with recovery efforts for this endangered fish. We learned that silvery minnow eggs are collected along the river in the Spring, then brought to protected channels like this one to hatch.

In the fall, refugium volunteers trawl the water for minnows, as you see in the photos below.

The minnows are then brought to these tubs to await the right time for their release into the Rio Grande. In a year like this, where the river was dry for an extended period, they will wait until water levels are expected to remain adequate through the winter and spring to do this release.

As far as birds go, I didn't get very many photos worth sharing this month. The montane irruption continues. Here are a few photos that seem worth sharing.

Townsend's Solitaire-Cienega Canyon

 

 Brown Creeper-UNM Campus

Greater Roadrunner-Los Poblanos Open Space

And at the Nature Center (in order), Peregrine Falcon, Chipping Sparrow, Evening Grosbeak, White-Crowned Sparrow, and Steller's Jay.

I'll close with some sketches and paintings from the month, mostly from sketching group excursions. I painted the pumpkins plein air at Big Jim farms, then did the pepper painting later at home from a photo I took at their farm stand. 

 

 

Our other October excursion was to Coronado Monument in Bernalillo, where I did this sketch. I think you can see the difference in my skill level when I'm painting on-the-spot like this vs. using a photo. I kind of like it though.

Finally, I thought I'd share some interesting observations about light and color. These two photos are of the exact same painting I did of some Colorado Four O'Clocks. One photo was taken in natural light, and the other in indoor light. As a photographer, I'm of course aware of how light tempurature affects color in a photo. This time, i did a little experiment. I looked at the original painting in the two places I'd photographed it with first indoor, then outdoor light. To my astonishment, my naked eye actually saw the color in the painting quite differently depending on the light. The flowers looked magenta to me in the indoor light, and more blue-violet in the outdoor light.

 See you next month!

 

 

 

 

September 2026

  September Joys: Bird Migration, Rain, and Cooler Weather 

September was a great month for birds, so this month's post will be chock-full of birds. The cooler weather enticed me to get out more, as did the more unusual and rare birds that were being reported. The month ended with a rainy trip to Taos, where I managed to capture a Magpie flying past a newly snowcapped mountain. 

Crick Ave Greenbelt

Early in the month, I visited this migrant trap (an isolated green area that migrants use as a rest stop) two days in a row. A Red-Headed Woodpecker was being reported there. This is a bird that I've yet to see. I had expected I would need to go a few hours east if I ever wanted to see one, and here it was in my town. I missed the Red-Headed on both visits, but each time I had a consolation prize: A Great Horned Owl on day one, and an Acorn Woodpecker on day two. 

 

Carlito Springs-Sandias

Mid-month, I went to my friend's favorite patch: Carlito Springs. I took some photos of the old cabins from when this place held a sanitorium, and later painted this picture of one of the cabins.

We came across a pair of Hepatic Tanagers calling to one another. We heard them first, and finally saw this one when he moved out into the open. Unfortunately not a great photo, but I see Hepatic Tanagers so seldom that I thought it worth posting anyway.

Rio Grande Nature Center Fall Festival

I volunteered at this year's Fall Festival, which was focused on reptiles and amphibians. Esteban Rosario Sanchez presented on his research with the turtles at the Nature Center. At the discovery pond, people were able to observe three of the four resident species up close. In the first picture, a volunteer holds up a year-old Painted Turtle, showing its distinctive red undershell. Below that: Two Snapping Turtles.

 

 

The next day at the Tramway Wetlands (North Diversion Channel), I got to see the other area turtle: The Spiny Softshell. Spiny Softshells have been really suffering this year with the lack of water. This one looking good, supported by the  reliable water in the Channel.

Candelaria Nature Preserve

Fall migration brought some interesting birds to our bird survey on September 22nd. We saw a couple of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, a Lark Bunting female, and a Lewis's Woodpecker (part of the montaine irruption happening this year, where many species of higher elevations are showing up in the valley.) The Lark Bunting is the brown bird with the white stripe and chunky bill. The Lewis's Woodpecker is the pink-bellied bird in the terrible photo.

 

 

 

 

Montessa Park

 

For two days in a row, I went with bird survey buddies to another migrant trap in the South Valley, where interesting birds tend to turn up during migration. This little green space is part of a work station, where an avid birder who happens to work there reports rarities when they show up. The first day we came for a Barn Owl, and caught it briefly in flight as we accidentally flushed it from a tree. The Green Heron was a little easier to photograph. 

As we ate lunch afterwards, a first year or juvenile Golden Eagle soared overhead. I've been wanting to see one in Bernalillo County for ages, so this was definitely my bird of the day.

 

 

The report of a Tennessee Warbler brought me back to Montessa Park the next day. Several birders were also looking. It look more than an hour to find, but we all had success. 

 

That hour of searching also brought much better looks at the Barn Owl, and my best looks so far at a Clay-Colored Sparrow. (I think you will be able to tell which is which here).

Los Poblanos Open Space

The garden area at Los Poblanos has been great for flycatchers. On this visit towards the end of September, there were Western Kingbirds still hanging around later in season than usual, along with several Cassin's Kingbirds, who are in migration. The Western is the one with a bug in its bill. The one with a darker gray breast is the Cassin's Kingbird.

  

 

This diminutive flycatcher, genus Empidonax, was also hanging about. I will leave you to decide if you think it's a Dusky, Hammond's, or Gray Flycatcher. I've had quite enough of trying to pin down Empidonax IDs this month.

A Very Rainy Taos

I finished the month in Taos, where the rain kept me and my friends inside more than out. During breaks in the rain, we walked up and down the  rural road in El Prado where we were staying. Lots of magpies and flocks of Pine Siskin, and these two beautiful horses.

 Inside the house, this sweet dog that my friend was dog-sitting.

When the clouds cleared after two days of rain, we discovered that it had snowed in the Taos ski valley. 

 

I spent a lovely morning on this day after the rain at Rio Fernando Wetlands in Taos (AKA Fred Baca Park). 

Here are the birds that I saw there that I was able to photograph. In order of presentation: Evening Grosbeak male, Mountain Chickadee, Song Sparrow, and first year or juvenile male Yellow-Headed Blackbird. 

I think it fitting to close this September ramble with a few of the numerous sunflowers that filled the month with both beauty (and with food for birds and bugs).