Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico

"Life is a beautiful reflection of your thoughts, light your thoughts well."

"Your fountain of happiness is just a reflection away."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Sunrise at Bosque Del Apache

I am linking up with NF Winged   and  Skywatch Friday 

I am linking up with Lydia of Where the Wild Things Were and the Favorite Fotos linky.

 November 21, 2013

Hubby and I were up early on our second morning,  we headed to the Bosque Del Apache before sunrise. It was well worth getting up early to see these beautiful skies and reflections. The birds of course were an added bonus for me.

The reflections at the marsh were beautiful.

Throw in some ducks, snow geese and sandhill cranes and the day just gets better.

For my NF Winged part of my post,  I am sharing some more Bosque Del Apache birds like the Grebe above.

Not the best or even a clear shot, but I love the Black Phoebe and the colors in the shot above.

A pretty White-Crowned  Sparrow with the blue sky.

I took a gazillion sunrise photos, I could not decide which one I like better. They are some of my all time favorite sunrise photos. I hope you all like them too.


 Thanks for visiting my post and  blog and I always appreciate your comments.

  Happy Skywatching everyone!

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged.   I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Gambel's Quail lifer

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

November 19, 2013

I am sharing another lifer from my  New Mexico trip..it is the Gambel's Quail..We saw this bird at the Bosque Del Apache wildlife refuge.  Hubby and I were taking a break near the visitor's center when these birds popped up out of the brush.  The Gambel's Quail is easily recognized by their top knots and the scaly plumage on their undersides. The males have copper feathers on the top of their heads, black faces with white stripes above their eyes. I think they are very pretty and unusual birds, I was happy to add them to my life list.

We saw the Gambel's Quail near a cute gazebo with a bench, were hubby and I were sitting.  I could hear them first before seeing them and then all of sudden a group of the Quail appeared.

Once in awhile, one of the Gambel's Quail would hop onto this log which was a little more in the open for photos.  It habitat is the desert regions like where we were visiting in New Mexico. The Gambel's Quail is named after William Gambel a 19th century naturalist and explorer of the Southwestern United States.

I hope you enjoyed my pretty Gambel's Quail, it was another one of my favorite sightings in New Mexico. Thanks for visiting and for the nice comments.

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!

More Bosque Del Apache NWR

November 16, 2013

Linking up Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-b-birdin  
I hope you are joining in and posting your birds and critters.

Can you believe half of November is over already? Gee, the days are just flying by. Pretty soon it will be Thanksgiving, time to prefer for the big family Thanksgiving day dinner.

 Above are some of the birds we saw while visiting the Bosque Del Apache wildlife refuge: the large photo is the Sandhill Cranes, top right is the Roadrunner, Gambel's Quail, White-Crowned Sparrow, Bottom left is a Marsh Wren, Snow Geese, female Northern Harrier and a couple of Killdeer.

 Neat reflection of the Killdeer.

 A Sora not far from the boardwalk trail. The Sora is a small waterbird, breeds in marshy areas.

Pepe le Pew thankfully running away from us, as we headed back to our car.

 Cute bunny also seen near the boardwalk trail.

Female Northern Harrier showing off its owlish looking face. The male Harrier is grey and is called the Grey Ghost. I hope you enjoy my birds and critters from the Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge.

Thanks for stopping by and  I wish everyone a happy weekend.

 To see more beautiful photos and cute critters

please visit:  Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious hosts Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.

Birding the Bosque Del Apache NWR

I am linking up with NF Winged   and  Skywatch Friday 

It is that time for Skywatch Friday, I hope to see everyone sharing their beautiful skies and for sharing some winged creatures for NF Winged.

 Since being home from our vacation, my working, turning back the clocks, captures of  the sky and birds has been just about non existent. So,  I am still sharing vacation photos.  On this day we were visiting the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife refuge. We spent two nights in a town near by the refuge called Socorro.  Staying close to the refuge allowed us time to be at the refuge during the sunset/sunrises.  The first evening we watched the Snow Geese lift off from the field and land on the marsh and then the Sandhill Cranes would start their show. It was just fun being there watching the flocks of geese, cranes, blackbirds and all the ducks.

The sun setting on a field of Red-Wing Blackbird and Sandhill Cranes.

Then the Snow Geese arrived letting everyone know they were on their way, the Sandhill Cranes on the ground would try blending in with their sounds. It was quite the show.

This is a shot of the sky behind us as we watched the show at the marsh.  On the bottom left you can see some of the train cars that derailed just  a short distanced from the wildlife refuge. I am so glad there was not a chemical spill from the derailment. We were happy that the entrance to the refuge was before this accident and the dreadful road closed sign.

A few Sandhill Cranes and some Northern Pintails in the background.

We watched the sky layered with clouds turn colors.

We listened as the geese flew by honking. The sky looked pretty with a layer of blue above the colorful trees a hint of pretty pink sky.

 Thanks for visiting my post and  blog and I always appreciate your comments.

  Happy Skywatching everyone!

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged.   I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Greater Roadrunner

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

After my New Mexico trip I can knock another of my TOP TEN most want to see birds off of my list. It is the Greater Roadrunner.  A cool bird and another New Mexico lifer, YES!

I actually saw my first Roadrunner the day before this sighting. But the bird ran across the street and into the brush so fast, I could not get his photo. On this day at the Bosque Del Apache NWR the Roadrunner came out of the bushes and ran across a large open field.

These photos are thanks to dear hubby, he was sitting on the right side of the car for these shots. Hubby took a few shots of the Roadrunner as he ran across the field. What a cool sight!

 The Greater Roadrunner is a long-legged bird in the Cuckoo family. The adult has a bushy crest and a long, thick dark bill. The roadrunner has a long dark tail, dark on the head and back. They have four toes, two facing front and two face backward.  They feed in insects, fruits and small reptiles. The Roadrunner can run at speeds up to 20 MPH.

It seems that after I see a bird that I have really wanted to see, they keep appearing. During the rest of our trip, I started seeing more Roadrunners. Of course most of the time running across the road in front of the car. Sometimes they were just a blur. But cool sightings. 

I hope you enjoyed my Roadrunner, it was one of my favorite sightings in New Mexico. Thanks for visiting and for the nice comments.

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!