February 2026

 

February's blog will be a little short, but I do have a few birds and stories to show and tell. I started a watercolor class this month. My opening image is of a painting I did in the class. It's based on a photo from the City of Rocks.

Bird Survey-Rio Grande Nature Center

The weekly volunteer survey at the Rio Grande Nature Center can be counted on to get me out with the birds at least once a week. This month brought a few interesting ducks to the center, including this super-sharp Bufflehead male and this subtly-colored Lesser Scaup female that presented the team with a bit of an ID challenge. 

We continued to have a lot of Bluebirds, both Western and Eastern. The subtly-colored female in these photos was a little bit of an ID challenge also. Some of the team thought her belly and throat looked gray (Western Bluebird) while others thought white (Eastern Bluebird) She turned out to be a female Eastern Bluebird. What threw us off was that there was no hint of a rusty colored throat. But plumage is variable, and SIbley's guide shows an illustration of a "drab" female Eastern with a whitish throat like this one.

Out by the river, I watched this Northern Mockingbird foraging in the same area where I saw a Mockingbird in December. It seems likely to me this is the same bird, who must have wintered in this area by the Rio Grande. 

        Hairy Woodpecker male in the  Bosque.                                                                   

Sketchers Gathering-Los Poblanos Open Space

In mid-February my sketching group gathered at the Community Garden. Sandhill Cranes were foraging in the adjacent field. Most of us lined up our chairs at the edge of the field to sketch them. They stayed so close, unbothered by our quiet presence.

 

Further south in the fields, a lone Ross's Goose (similar species to a Snow Goose and a bit smaller) was hanging out with the Canada Geese.

 

And a Roadrunner was doing its barking "song" that we only hear during courtship and breeding time. This sound is mostly associated with the female, calling from a tree to attract her mate.

 A Walk at Tingley Open Space

 

Late in the month, I joined a friend to walk around the ponds at Tingley Open Space. At the Cormorant roost, most of the nests were occupied by pairs of Neotropic Cormorants. One pair was engaged in an interaction which I imagine is part of their courtship. The lower bird is in adult plumage. The upper bird is browner, still in juvenile plumage, so a first year bird. I know of other bird species (eg-Cooper's Hawk)  that retain juvenile plumage through their first breeding season, yet still are ready to breed. This must also be the case for Cormarants. 

 

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The south pond in the open space continues to host fewer birds than usual this winter.compared to past years. Past winters have found healthy numbers of Wigeon, each pair associating with an American Coot. The Coot will dive, and the Wigeon wait for the food that the Coot's diving brings to the surface. On this day, a pair of American Wigeon were associating instead with a Redhead male. Redheads, like Coots, are divers. We watched a while, and sure enough, the Wigeon were grabbing food that rose to the surface while the Redhead was under water. All went swimmingly until one of the Wigeon grabbed some food right out of the Redhead's bill. At that point, the Redhead swam off. The Redhead's presence in the south pond is another unusual thing this winter. This is the more shallow of the two open space ponds and does not normally host diving ducks. I wonder what has changed this winter: Are the water levels higher for some reason?

 

 

 

On the north pond, a Great Egret stood on the island in a lordly stance. This is probably the same Great Egret that has been ranging around the Albuquerque Bosque all winter, though I hadn't seen it since early January.

That's it for February. So long til  next time!