Happy Monday!

Happy Monday everyone!

I wish everyone a great day and a happy new week!  😊

Nature is our treasure, help to save it.

Bitter Lake NWR, New Mexico

Comments off, enjoy your day!

American Bittern

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I am sharing the American Bittern I found at the Bitter Lake Wildlife refuge near Roswell, New Mexico.

We were on the wildlife drive when I spotted the American Bittern slowing move its beak which allowed me to pick him/her out of the reeds. When alarmed the Bittern will point its bill toward the sky, attempting to blend in with its surroundings.

I took these shots from the car window, so not the best photos. But,  I have finally learned to turn the car off to keep the camera from shaking. 

The adult has a dark crown with distinct broad stripes, they forage mostly in freshwater habitats. For me, the American Bittern is a cool bird to see and I am always excited to see one.


Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

New Mexico

  I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday 

October 27, 2013

Hubby and I are back after  a week long vacation to New Mexico. We were kind of scared the week before leaving with the government shutdown. Our trip was planned around a few National Parks and Wildlife refuges all of which were closed during the shutdown. Luckily the politicians came to an agreement days before we were to leave.  Driving a loop we went from Albuquerque RT 40 to RT 285 to Carlsbad. One of our main stops was at the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We drove along on RT 180 the national park highway stopping at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas. Continuing on to RT 25 to our next stop in the town of Truth or Consequences and a one night stay at a hot springs hotel. From there we stayed a couple of nights in Socorro and then back to Albuquerque. We put 1,250 miles on the rental car!

You can see some of the New Mexico sights we saw while on our first day. Rt 285 looks like it goes on forever. While driving I saw a couple of different herds of Antelope or I call them Pronghorn. After flying and driving for hours we started looking for food. The first town we came to was like a ghost town with tumbleweed blowing across the road.  In the next town of Vaughn we found a nice place with good food called Penny's Diner.

Above are the birds seen at the Bitter Lake NWR : lots of Sandhill Cranes, Pied-bill Grebe, Loggerhead Shrike, a few White Pelicans and a pretty shot of the full moon near Carlsbad.

When I plan our vacations, I try to find attractions that both hubby and I will enjoy. On this trip the main attraction for hubby was the Carlsbad Caverns and of course I managed to research all the great places for birding. We managed to break up our drive along the route 285 stopping at the Bitter Lake wildlife refuge near Roswell, New Mexico.  I have to report we did NOT see any aliens on our drive.

I will be showing more photos from our New Mexico vacation, so I hope you will stop back and check out my post.  It was a fun trip..


As always, I hope you enjoy my post and thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.

Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more
 from  Our World Tuesday

 Thanks to our host: Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week!