Whirlybird with a game warden looking for a coyote that attacked a runner.
Daddy Owl: “¡No me gustan los whirlybirds! ¡A mí tampoco me gustan los coyotes!“
Flicker: “Whirlybird? Is that what that thing is called?”
Mama Owl: “Stupid coyotes! Stupid whirlybird!”
I thought the doves flew up out of the cottonwood because of the helicopter.
But a second look revealed a Cooper’s Hawk had flown up in the tree where the doves were perched.
“It’s a bird! It’s a plane! IT’S a WHIRLYBIRD! Stupid coyotes!”
Blow up of Mr. Cooper.
Whirlybird hovering before flying south. A crane flying north.
Mr. Cooper flew north to another tree.
Mama Owl: “That’s better now that the whirlybird has flown south!”
Clouds at dawn looking north.
Daddy Owl: “Mucho mejor sin el whirlybird.”
Like a sunset at sunrise looking southwest.
Off Center & Not Even 
Busy day on the Bosque…
Yes it was. Thanks, Susan.
You still have the cranes…cool!
We have a lot of cranes. They are starting to gather before they head north, which will be over then next few weeks. Thanks, Teri.
Did the warden find the coyote?
I don’t know. Thanks, David.
Beautiful photos from the bosque, Tim. I bet the helicopter was quite disturbing to the residents.
Hi Lavinia. They don’t seem bothered by the helicopters that fly up and down the river a lot, until they start flying really close to the water and just over the treetops like yesterday. Then they are quite disturbed.
I assume Mama Owl is sitting her eggs. Does she stay until hatching, or does Daddy Owl take his turn?
Hi Maj & Sher. Yes Mama is sitting on her eggs. No daddy does not take a turn. He brings Mama food. Once the owlets hatch he never interacts with them. He hands off food to Mama. He watches the owlets and takes out any threat the comes close. Fortunately, neither of them see humans as threats.
Well presented selection there, Tim! Thanks.
Thanks, Inchcock.
No me gustan los whirlybirds, either, Daddy Owl and to be honest, I hope mr Coyote hides somewhere safe…
I’m glad whirlybird didn’t disrupt the beauty, at least not the visible beauty! 😉
Hi Marina, they are trying to find the coyote because it’s probably rabid. It’s extremely rare for coyotes to attack people in the bosque. The whirlybirds are annoying.
Oh, yes they are!
Funny story and well documented Timothy 😉
Hear, hear!
Or, should that be, here, here?
Hear, hear is right with whirlybirds.
Thanks, picpholio.
I likes them exciting whirlybirds.
They are noisy. Thanks, Shey.
Great eyes to catch Mama Owl and the hawk. Cheers to the joy you find in looking up.
Thanks, Frank.
Tim, the Flicker portrait is gorgeous. I love the trio of cranes best. LOL, they do look like they’d be saying something like that. I do NOT miss the constant window-shaking fly-bys of the big whirly birds in DC. Several sonic booms a week from the AFB is no noise at all compared to that.
Thanks for this lovely sunrise. Your area gets a lot of that beautiful pink. I rarely see it down here. I had a good look at the lovely moon this morning though.
Hugs on the wing!
I got the moon on its way down on the horizon. Sonic booms aren’t bad. I rarely hear them up here these days, but we do get a lot of jet noise from the airport and the Air Force base.
I never heard any sonic booms when I lived in Rio Rancho. They’re huge here though, and frequent. Rattles the entire house. But it’s not as bad as DC and all those big helicopters, flying around in packs of as many as 6. Or the V23 Osprey ones who’d fly really low.
We have a lot of V23 Osprey and a few feathered Osprey flying up and down the river. There’s international pilot training down by you and the proving grounds and the missile range. The airspace ownership is so complicated and tight in Europe that NATO pilots train in southern NM where there is lots of airspace that is only restricted by the US government.
Fascinating comments’ thread. Wonderful narrative of various “predators”. Gorgeous photos per usual. That sky!! I can’t say it enough, and that trio of cranes…
Thanks, Mary Jo. It was an interesting afternoon in the bosque and a pretty morning to the north and southwest.
The juxtaposition of the helicopter and the bird in flight especially resonated. We have always wanted wings. Leonardo da Vinci has the right of it all: “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
I’ve flown in big and small planes, balloons, on hang gliders, and through the air on motorcycles as I was inspired by Evel Knievel. I guess I do look to the sky to see the birds, planes and whatever is in flight. Thanks, Rebecca.
I love your spirit of adventure, Tim!
It’s surprising I survived.
All sorts of things going on! Fabulous photos, as per.
Thanks, Dale.
Reading your story made me smile, thanks
Thanks, Harry.
Awesome pics! Crazy that a coyote attacked a runner. Ours have gotten more brazen lately too, one came right up to our house before dark last week, my cat had just come inside!
Coyotes can be brazen. It was probably wanting you to hand over the cat. Thanks, Tiffany.
Wonderful photos!
Thanks, Robert.
Lovely birdie clicks, as always Tim.
Thanks, Ruelha.
So much excitement! Can barely take it! Stupid coyote. They look so cute. I wish they wouldn’t attack people. Do they do that very often?
Stunning shot of Daddy Owl.
Thanks, Resa. Coyotes rarely attack people. That’s why they had to track it down as it probably had rabies.
Oh my! Rabies is not a good thing. The raccoons and bats around the city have been having rabies problems. If we see either in daylight hours, we are supposed to report it.
Great shots Tim … love the commentary. I didn’t know coyotes would do that ..