I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of the spring birds.  The weather has been so mild that I expect to see them any day.  But so far it’s just been the usual birds around town.  Of course, I never tire of seeing any bird, but I love the colors of the summer birds.  They can’t help but make you smile.

I checked on several of the owl nests around town, but I still didn’t see any of the babies.  The nest near the Rio Grande Nature Center has a young one.  Joe managed to get a photo of this year’s new ones, but the baby didn’t show itself the day I went by.  The mother is sitting higher in the nest so I know there’s a baby or two in there.  Dad was roosting nearby.

 

While there I saw a cute Western Bluebird enjoying a rest in the shade of a tree.  I just love seeing birds with their feathers covering their feet.  It makes them look so sweet.

 

 

After checking on the owls I decided to stop in a the Los Poblanos Fields.  There were lots of roadrunners about.  They were very busy hunting so it was a challenge getting a photo.

 

I checked on the Western Screech Owl… he’s still in the next box.  Several kestrel were about looking for lunch.

 

A group of grackles were at a neighboring house posing for the girls.

 

While watching the grackles I happened to see something enjoying the shade of a tree.  When I crept closer I realized it was a coyote.

When he saw Scarlett he moved away, allowing me to get some photos.  We moved along after a few minutes so as to not disturb him.  I noticed he went back in the shade after we moved off.   Just beautiful!

 

 

I saw a phoebe as I was leaving.  He was calling and calling.  Looking for a mate I suppose.

 

Yesterday I decided to get up early and hike Embudito Trail.  I knew we had a major front coming in and the winds were going to be horrendous.  So I wanted to get some hiking in before I’m kept indoors for a couple days.

The morning was very overcast.  So the morning light was very weak for photos.  But that didn’t stop me! Lol!

I was thrilled to see 3 pairs of Cactus Wren building nests near each other in the Cholla Cactus.  I love wrens, and the Cactus Wren are just beautiful and the biggest of the wrens in the US.

 

I must have stood and watched a pair of wrens building a nest for about 20 minutes.  I was within 10 feet of the nest and they didn’t seem to care.  So of course I took a lot of photos.  Came away with a few good ones even though the light was so low.

While I was photographing the wrens, Scarlett lay quietly nearby.  I heard a Gambel’s Quail calling in a bush near her and saw her watching him. She stayed so still and watched as he looked for food all around her.  I tried to get a photo of them together, but whenever the quail came out in the open, it scurried quickly to the next bush.  She’s a good birding dog.  🙂

 

Also along the trail I saw the usual suspects.

 

Soon the wind started picking up.  The front was here and building in intensity.  Time to head home and hunker down in the forecasted 45 mph winds with up to 70 mph gusts.  Yikes!

Hopefully I will be able to get out again soon.