Category: Birds

Whiteout

Timothy Price66 Comments

A storm rolled in this afternoon whiting out the Sandias.

The Sandias are somewhere in the whiteout.

Daddy Owl found a nice triangle in the cottonwood that offered a little protection from the wind and sleet.

I called to Mama Owl and she put up an ear tuft for me.

There were about a hundred Robins hopping, lying around, and foraging on the levee.

A pair of Robins.

I could only get about a dozen in the telephoto frame. They were tiny dots with wider angles under the drab light under the clouds.

Squadron of fighter ducks.

The pTeradactyl in the clear water ditch.

He decided I was too close and flew a few hundred feet down the ditch.

He felt he was at a safe distance obviously not wanting to leave the Clearwater ditch and the cover of the trees.

Surround Clouds

Timothy Price55 Comments

North

South

Southeast

West

East

Daddy Owl has been working hard watching over and feeding Mama Owl while she sits on her eggs.

He was nodding off this afternoon.

ZZZZZZZ

“I was not nodding off! I had an itch I needed to scratch. Stupid Paparazzo!”

Daddy Owl was up a little higher on a new perch tonight that has a really good view of Mama Owl on the nest.

Wood Duck Daze

Timothy Price62 Comments

When I went out on a walk this morning, I found Daddy Owl in the tree he sits in when he watches over the owlets. Mama Owl’s ear tufts barely stuck up above the edge of the hole in the tree. A few cranes flew over close to the tops of the cottonwood trees. Most of the cranes have headed north. Only a few cranes are holding out.

Then I saw something moving in the cottonwoods. It was a female Wood Duck hopping and flying around between branches. A male Wood Duck soon followed. That was the first of three pairs of Wood Ducks I saw in the cottonwoods as I walked in the bosque this morning.

A couple of months ago there were some birders looking for the elusive Wood Ducks. I told them they were too early. They looked at me like I was crazy. The birders acted like the Wood Ducks are rare. Well, they were quite rare in the middle of the winter, but they are not rare now.

I took a lot of photos of the Wood Duck pairs. I was thinking about the best way to show a lot of Wood Duck photos and decided I’d write a song and put the photos to music. The song is not very polished, but I had fun doing it. I hope you enjoy Wood Duck Daze and the all photos of the Wood Ducks.

A look Back

Timothy Price51 Comments

What was left of my Yamaha 250cc Enduro after I crashed doing an Evel Knievel type jump in 1973.

While I was looking for some photos I had sneaked in the Sistine Chapel many years ago and did not find, I found the above photo I had been looking for for many years of my motorcycle after I had a spectacular crash doing high jumps. I thought the photo was lost. What happened is that after flying about 15 feet in the air, I landed on the front wheel first. Surprisingly the impact didn’t bend the front wheel, but it did torque the front forks, broke the frame under the gas tank, and bent the downtube on the frame by the engine. If I had collision insurance on it back then it would have been considered a total loss. What was even more surprising is that I was relatively unhurt by the incident. If I remember correctly, the impact split my helmet, which would have been my head if I wasn’t wearing a helmet. My friend, Mike Rhoades, who was watching from another vantage point rode his motorcycle over and said: “That was cool. I want to see you do that again!” There was no replay, as we had to find a few strands of baling wire to twist together so he could tow me home.

One of the first stories Joel Lewis will tell people about us is how I rode up the dunes with Joel on the back of my motorcycle at full throttle (about 70 mph) and how we flew through the air like madmen. The first story Mike would tell people was about my spectacular crash, also. My wild motorcycle riding gave people lasting memories.

After the crash, I took the motorcycle to Mr. Haagenson’s shop and he helped me bend the frame back into shape, line it up, and weld it back together. Then I took the engine apart, rebuilt it, souped it up, painted it black, got a tuned exhaust, a desert tank, new fenders, and made it into a really fast and cool-looking dirtbike for the time. It wasn’t long after that Yamaha introduced motocross bikes with mono shocks that we taller, faster, and much better at high jumping. A few years later I got a Yamaha 500cc Enduro and then graduated to a 750cc street bike.

The same motorcycle after I got the frame straightened out, and rebuilt it with new hardware.

I also found this self-portrait from 1979. I had a lot of muscle in those days.

Nora, the mama owl to the north, still sitting on her eggs, which should be hatching out soon. I did not see Osric, daddy owl to the north.

Moma Owl showing the top of her head and her ear tufts this morning.

Daddy Owl giving me a one-eyed look this evening.

Dusk View

Timothy Price42 Comments

There are fewer cranes as they are starting to head north.

pTerodactyl at dusk.

More hangers-on

Daddy Owl is not perching for long at dusk. He is flying off in search of food for Mama Owl.

The pTerodactyl looking beautifully blue-gray in the twilight.

Are you there in the darkness Mama Owl?

Yes, she is there sitting on her eggs.

Through The Humidifier Stripely

Timothy Price59 Comments

Spunk: “It looks like Beaker got a new humidifier.”

Beaker: “I’m looking through it all stripely.”

Gwendolyn: “Quick change Spunk! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Beaker: “Thanks for the new humidifier! I can breathe again.”

Spunk: “How did you do that you little brat?” Gwendolyn: “Ah ah ah ah…”

Gwendolyn: “Magic!”

Spunk: “I look great reflecting on the phone.” Gwendolyn: “I’m outta here.”

Beaker’s old humidifier started leaking, so I got him a new one. No sooner had I taken the humidifier out of the box, than Spunk jumped in it followed by Gwendolyn. Beaker gets his own private humidifier to help him breathe better. It’s so dry here that Beaker wheezes without the humidifier.

Persistence of Pigeons Parking

Timothy Price48 Comments

Every morning during the week I park my car in the same spot as I am usually first to arrive in the parking lot. Recently, when I get out of the car, pigeons fly in and gather around me. Last week three or four would gather, but this morning 14 pigeons flew in and stood in front of me. I assume they are expecting a handout like most people I encounter early in the morning downtown. Since I had nothing to offer them other than a few words of encouragement, like Saint Frances of Assisi, I gave them a short sermon. Then I gathered my things out of the trunk of my car and headed to the office.

Fourteen pigeons hoping for a handout got a short sermon instead.