All Clear

March 17, 2021March 17, 2021 Timothy Price48 Comments

By late afternoon there were no clouds, no owls, no Pteradactyl, no squadrons of fighter ducks. Simply blue skies, a little snow lining the crest of the Sandias, a ragged Cormorant, a lonely crane, and a time-lapse video.

Above is a time-lapse video Tristan took of the balloons and clouds this morning. This video really shows how the winds blow in different directions at different altitudes in Albuquerque, which makes it easy to navigate hot air balloons around the Albuquerque area.

Cormorant

A little bit of snow along the top of the Sandias with the towers.

The cormorant looked ragged under its wings.

Towers in focus.

A lonesome crane flying around looking for other cranes.

Whiteout

March 16, 2021March 16, 2021 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

March 15, 2021March 15, 2021 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.

Daylight Crazy Time

March 14, 2021March 14, 2021 Timothy Price71 Comments

Dawn on daylight savings time

A pair of Wood Ducks in water.

Crazy clouds just before sunset on daylight savings time.

Daddy Owl looking jolly on his new perch overlooking Mama Owl.

Crazy clouds just before sunset with various faces and critters.

Chew

March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 Timothy Price52 Comments

Another beautiful dawn

Spunk took the Duluth catalog ad literally

Wild clouds at sunset behind Christine’s tree on the right.

A Turn To Gray

February 17, 2021February 17, 2021 Timothy Price44 Comments

Clouds blowing over the Sandias before sunset.

The sun’s last attempt to shine through the clouds before slipping below the horizon.

Mama Owl and Daddy Owl looking gray back to their favorite spot.

“I’m Silver, not Gray” You’re really quite gray Silver.

Snow Came and Went

February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 Timothy Price49 Comments

Black and white of snow under dawn’s dark light turns to snow black and white under a dark street light.

Cranes fly into darkness in the sun’s waning light.

Clouds break up over the Rio Grande and the snow-covered Sandias.

Mama Owl and Daddy Owl perched in a different tree.

Crows fly in the final light of dusk.

The pTerodactyl reflects in the darkness.

Under A Freezing Midday Sun

February 14, 2021February 14, 2021 Timothy Price62 Comments

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.

¡Nada!

February 11, 2021 Timothy Price33 Comments

Yesterday we had clouds running amok through the skies with our painter scrambling to keep her colors from blowing away with the winds. Today ¡Nada! Not a cloud in the sky. However, our ever clever painter brushed the Sandias with pink, then she threw a spray of ocher that turned into lavender, purples, and blues as it spread from the horizon into the sky.