With A Little Help From His Friends

Timothy Price7 Comments

Sasha trying to wake up at dawn

Mama Owl was giving me the tail while feeding The Lone Owlet this morning.

Jetties in the glow of the almost rising sun

A dragon over Resa’s Wolf Tree

Spunk and Jake

Snapping turtle on the irrigation ditch bank

When Jake and I went out for our afternoon walk, my neighbor, Sara, and a cyclist were pondering the snapping turtle on the irrigation ditch bank, headed away from the Clearwater ditch and river. Sara got an old horse feed bag, we got the snapping turtle in the sack, and I carried him to the river. 

He was looking very dry, but still had a lot of snap in him.

He was still upset over being bagged and carried to the river, so he gave me a menacing look.

Sunset

After he got into the river, he stretched out and soaked under sunset clouds.

Jake watching the turtle soak in the shallows.

The turtles view of the sunset

Spunk

Turtle Tuesday

Timothy Price24 Comments

Cloudy Dawn

We got half an inch of rain yesterday and another quarter inch of rain this afternoon.

Mudback of Notre Pond enjoying the rise in the pond water from the rain.

Why did the turtle cross the levee?

This morning’s Spunk Art: “Tail In A Box!”

Turkey Vultures

I think the rain washed a lot of the fuzz off of the Lone Owlet.

Sunset after the rain

Happy Bowie

Timothy Price39 Comments

8:30 AM

Shadowing

We spent a wonderful afternoon at Susans’ for Memorial Day We even got rain!

Bowie was happy to see us.

Bowie demonstrated his head in a jar crawl.

Bowie’s view of Jake as he puts his head in the jar.

Sunset from the east side of Albuquerque

Sacrifice

Timothy Price46 Comments

A sad, true story of a very young racoon pup I found gutted near my doorstep as if it had been sacrificed.

Sacrifice
By Timothy Price

[Verse 1]
I buried a raccoon pup at dawn
Found him by the steps
Heartless and empty

[Chorus]
Another life lost
Dark world so cruel
Why should I care?
You silly old fool

[Vers 2]
Secretly sacrificed
Under half-moon that rose at two
Such a dark mystery

[Bridge]
A spark of life was lit
To be snuffed out so soon
A baby raccoon as a sacficial lamb
So much misery for such a little life

[Chorus]
Another life lost
Dark world so cruel
Why should I care?
You silly old fool

[Otro]
With last rites fitting
Any innocent soul
Tucked in under spadefuls of sandy soil
Laid to rest, secured for eternity

Dusk

Three Doves And A Grosbeak

Timothy Price23 Comments

Ash-throated Flycatcher at sunrise

Lone Owlet at sunrise

Watching a Cooper’s Hawk fly into the tree and start chattering a the owlet

Daddy flew in right after the Cooper’s Hawk

He had a gopher for Mama and Lone Owlet

Mama Owl giving the pesky paparazzo mad dogs

A Killdeer at Beaver Point

Three doves and a Grosbeak

Then I saw another Killdeer at The Beach

Eastern Bluebird

Say’s Phoebe

Eastern Bluebird

Silver

Guard hummingbird

Loki

Lone Owlet at sunset

Dusk

Beaver at dusk

Can you find the beaver in the above photo?

For The Birds

Timothy Price29 Comments

The Lone Owlet at Dawn

Black Phoebe on a fire hydrant bollard at dawn

The river was down again this morning. Almost sunrise.

White-crowned Sparrow

Looking up a cottonwood that’s full of birds I could hear, but not see.

Sunrise and South Beach

Wilson’s Warbler

A pair of White-brested Nuthatch’s

Merlin says this is an Eastern Bluebird.

The Lone Owlet nd sunset

Sunset

Dusk

Hepatic Tanager at dusk

Dawn

Timothy Price35 Comments

Dawn

Update on the orphan owlet from the raptor rehabilitor:

“The owlet is eating like a pig and doing well. He’s spending days outside in the GHOW enclosure with foster dad GHOW Royal to ensure he knows he’s a GHOW, and enjoy fresh air and nature sounds. For now, when he’s in the outdoor enclosure in the daytime, he’s in a large sheltered nestbox with wooden slats so he can see and hear Royal but will stay secure in the nestbox while he’s still smaller. I’m bringing him in at night because it’s still a bit cool overnight here and he doesn’t have siblings to snuggle with for warmth. Eventually he’ll be staying in the outdoor enclosure with Royal 24/7 and he’ll have room to learn/ practice flying.”

If you would like to donate to Wildlife Rescue, Inc. in New Mexico to help the orphaned owlet and other rescued wildlife, go to https://wildliferescuenm.org/donate-give/.

Mama Owl waiting for Daddy Owl to bring breakfast.

House Finches in silhouette

House Finches

The Mudback of Notre Pond holding his head up

Another turtle checking things out

Still Dawn

Ducks in the mist

Tracks on the beach. The trail is from a beaver’s tail dragging in the sand.

Sunrise

Mudback of Notre Pond changed position after sunrise

Blue Grosbeak

The Lone Owlet looking east after sunrise

Laurie caught El Vato Kitty sitting with the silver-haired Sasquatch

Sunset

The Lone Owlet at dusk

The moon, Jupiter and Venus were line up nicely tonight.

Let Them Eat Squirrel

Timothy Price34 Comments

5:45 AM

Looked like Mama Owl had a squirrel she was feeding to The Lone Owlet

Turtles at Dawn

Ducks at Dawn

Dawn

Towers at Dawn

Mudback of Notre Pond

Curious coyote pup

Tired-looking coyote mom

Settling in to sleep after a good squirrel breakfast

Pre-sunset

Black Pheobe catching flies at sunset

The Lone Owlet at sunset

Nice pink at sunset

Ducks at dusk

Dusk

Can you find Jupiter and Venus?

Jupiter and four moons

Jupiter and Venus are easier to see in the above photo.

Grounded

Timothy Price47 Comments

The smaller owl was out of the tree on the ditchbank when Jake and I went on our early morning walk. Three coyotes were eyeing the owlet. I chased off the coyotes, ran home with Jake, grabbed a box, ran back, put the owl in the box, took it home, put it in the library, covered it and shut the door so the cats wouldn’t bother it. Luckily, Daddy Owl did not attack me, and Mama Owl was nowhere to be seen. I took the owlet to Animal Rescue in Albuquerque.

Daddy Owl watching th grounded owlet.

Owlet in the box

Sunrise

Lesser Goldfinch

The three coyotes were playing on the ditch bank across the ditch from the owlet’s tree when Jake and I resumed our walk.

Sunset

The lone owlet

Venus made a brief appearance through the clouds.

Jupiter and the crescent moon.