The last supermoon moon of summer covered in clouds like lavender lace.
A huge wasp buzzing around near the ground.
Nighthawks
Dawn
A teenage toad frowning with a frog face.
Lavender Moon
Category: Hawks
Tourist
Pre-dawn
Dawn
Misty, a Mississippi Kite, is staying in Corrales for the summer.
We interrupt this post for a news flash. Søren has Tail Feathers! Yes! You heard it here first. Søren has tail feathers. For those of you who don’t know, Søren is our neurotic African Grey Parrot. Tristan and David got him around 2007. When Tristan and David divorced in 2014, Søren went crazy and pulled out all his feathers. We took Søren so he could live with a couple. He let all his feathers grow back, but he had been pulling out his tail feathers until a few weeks ago. Why he stopped pulling them out all of a sudden I can’t say, but he has figured out that he might be able to fly having all his feathers grown out. He finally looks like a whole African Grey Parrot.
Søren with his red tail feathers
The moon finally broke through the clouds for a bit last night.
Dancing With The Stars
Out at 4:00 am dancing with the stars and planets and La Llorona and Chupacraba
Since I got home late tonight, I didn’t do any redneck roofing. Instead, I went out to check on the owls. We had not seen any sign of the owls for the past 3 days. I think part of it was the fire department was running their super noisy airboat up and down the river all weekend watching for fires in the bosque. On Thursday, 30 acres of bosque burned south of Montaño Blvd., about 8 miles south of us. All was quiet tonight. The first bird I encountered looked like a juvenile Western Blue Bird. Then Daddy Owl came swooping through the property and landed on Susan’s tree. I thought he was going to get a squirrel squirreling around up ahead of me, but he didn’t go for it. But then our bunny came running out and he showed interest in the bunny. Laurie bravely stood between Daddy Owl and the bunny as we told Daddy Owl to leave our bunny be. We told him he can get all the squirrels and gophers he wants, but we draw the line when it comes to our bunny.
As we were heading to where the owlets hang out, a Cooper’s Hawk buzzed us and landed on a nearby tree for a few seconds. When I got up to the Tangle Heart Tree, Mama owl was just taking off to go shopping. The owlets were there peeping like crazy wanting Mama and Daddy to bring them food. A few minutes later Mama Owl returned and gave Mary whatever she caught. When I looked at what Mary had in her beak in the photo, it looks like a cicada, but I can’t say for sure. Mama, flew back to Wowlmart, as Shey calls it, but it was getting dark, so we didn’t stick around to see if she or Daddy Owl came back with anything interesting.
Mars and Jupiter
Western Bluebird
Daddy Owl on Susan’s tree eyeing our bunny. He gave up after we told him no.
Cooper’s Hawk
Mama Owl flying off to Wowlmart.
Smokey sunset.
Sliver moon
Burners
Four balloons inflated and launched from our neighbor’s field. Below is a video of the inflating and launching, photos of the burners, photos of the animals watching, and three new balloons.
Harry Harrier
Harry Harrier, a Harrier Hawk, was zooming back and forth above me at dusk.
Swainson Flyover
Under a clear blue sky, the sun sinking low, a Swainson’s Hawk flew over head. Susan Hunter corrected me on my naming of the hawlk. Thanks, Susan. The only clouds were far to the south behind Mia’s Tree.
Triple Delight
Major Tom Peepers, Sleepy, and Mona Lisa.
Yellow iris working on blooming.
A black hawk was circling in the distance.
A noble hummer.
This sunset was from two night ago. I forgot to post it.
The Sacrifice
I buried a raccoon pup at dawn
Found him by the steps
Heartless and emptied
Secretly sacrificed
Under half-moon? Rose at two
Such a mystery
With last rites fitting any innocent soul
Tucked in under spadefuls of sandy soil
Laid to rest, secured for eternity
A spark of life lit
Snuffed, sacrificed
So much misery
The poem above was inspired by a poor baby raccoon, gutted and left near our doorstep. I don’t know what killed it, but it seemed very sacrificial. I’m packing several day’s worths of photos into this post because of the possibility that other things will come up, and many of the photos not get posted.
Click on the galleries below to see a slideshow of the photos in their correct aspect ratios.
Grosbeaks, Hummer, and Towhee the Line
I am Wood Duck hear me roar!
Got Your Goose and Goslings with Cormorant
Cooper’s Hawks’ Hanky Panky
Fuzzette, Major Tom Peppers out of the nest with Mona Lisa and Sleeping still in the nest, Mama Owl, Daddy Owl, Daddy Owl, Mama Owl, Daddy Owl
¡No Me Gustan Los Whirlybirds!
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.
Under A Freezing Midday Sun
We got about an inch of snow last night, and while the sun tried to peek through the clouds, the temperature never got about 25ºF (-3.9ºC). A couple of walks in the bosque and out on the beaches along the Rio Grande resulted in new birds and some exciting owl news.
Sandias and the Rio Grande from North Beach.
Canadian Geese.
Five Thrushes.
These Thrushes looked really iridescent in the snow on the riverbank under the cold, filtered sun.
Red-Tailed Hawk way off in the distance.
Sparrow up north scavaging in the snow and pebbles.
Red-Tailed Hawk in profile.
This poor calf has lost its herd. It’s all alone and has been sadly mooing for someone to keep it company.
Can you spot the northern mama owl sitting on her eggs?
She didn’t use this nest last year because the raccoons had ransacked it. She is in it again this year. The year before, 2018, she had Virginia in this nest: https://wp.me/p1yQyy-4dG
Thrush
Blondy the blonde porcupine sleeping way up in a cottonwood.
Thrush getting a drink.
The acequia madre
Robin
Snowy Bosque
Mama Owl and Daddy Owl in their usual spot with snow all around.
Off Center & Not Even 