Al Hansen
Well-known member
The past few days have been busy/hectic but fun.
On the 22nd, we had a fantastic rain. Desert type where it just pounded for a while then let up and continued to rain for another 45 minutes. All the arroyos ran and the state dept. was busy with their front end loaders scraping gravel and rocks off the highway.
[/URL]
I was thrilled because the rain even gave me a duck pond in our backyard. By the way, that neighbor of ours is 1/4 mile away and on the other side of the arroyo.
[/URL]
On Saturday morning I woke up to a treat of pea-soup type fog which is a real treat out here. It took a while for the sun to burn it off.
[/URL]
This spider had been busy.
[/URL]
One of Bev's blue mist bushes.
[/URL]
An orange trumpet vine in full bloom. The hummers love it.
[/URL]
It is so unusual to see water on everything. This is one of our trees that we planted out by our kennel.
[/URL]
The labs were ready to be fed when I got there.
[/URL]
As I walked behind the kennel I noticed this when I looked to the northwest. The very bright light in the arroyo between our place and our neighbors.
[/URL]
I backed off with the camera to realize that this was actually the end of a rainbow and had I been traveling on the east side fo the Rio Grande, I would have seen the whole thing. I tried to capture a small portion of it.
[/URL]
One of our few rose bushes that remain. An old English type.
[/URL]
I decided to go get a breakfast burrito at my favorite restaurant in San Antonio, which is just 5 miles south of us.
What could be better than diving into this (the green chili was hot) and then reading a little bit about new waders?
[/URL]
When I got home I jumped in the Mule, got Chip and Serrano on the front seat with me and we went to go get the mail. Hot damn, my lucky day. I received 60 envelopes from the wing bee. What a great way to start this coming season.
[/URL]
[/URL]
I have already begun to fill in some of the blanks so that most of the paper work will be completed prior to the season starting. I once did it the hard way and would never want to do that again. What an honor to be chosen! Thank you to all the good folks in Maryland.
[/URL]
That evening I gazed out to the east to watch the shadows on the hills where some of New Mexico's wild horses are. The best news of all is that no one will take away this view from us.
[/URL]
On Sunday I decided to have some fun with the hummers since we still have quite a few here. The vast majority are now in Mexico however the rufous females and the juveniles are now here. The adult males rufous and calliope hummers have departed. Much like bluewing teal by the way. Very seldom have I ever shot an adult bluewing drake because they normally are in Mexico when our season opens around the middle of Sept.
[/URL]
Just a week ago the hummers were consuming over 2 gallons of nectar every day. Now with most of them gone we are down to feeding them just a touch over a gallon of nectar a day, which I guess is still a lot of hummingbirds when I think about it.
Some mass confusion at the feeder.
[/URL]
This looks to be an adult rufous female however the young male also look like this. Check on the left side of its face. Sure looks like another hummer's beak there.
[/URL]
Here is a juvenile black-chinned male. It has one purple feather on its neck which is the start of its gorget.
[/URL]
Check out this rufous with a cross-beak!
[/URL]
Here is an incoming adult male broadtail hummer. The sun hit his gorget just right.
[/URL]
Here is another one. He reminded me of the time I decided to test my knee out and climbed the last half mile to the top of Mt. Baldy, which is at 10,783 feet. That morning when the sun finally lit things up, I had one of these hummers hovering above my head while I stood at the very top of this mountain. It was hard to believe but true. Thank goodness these little marvels of the Americas have what is called "torpor". It will allow them to live in this environment during the summer.
[/URL]
This is how I had fun. I sat in comfort while taking their pictures. I made a crude hanger and then sat on the right hand side of the seat with my camera about 20 inches away from my subjects. By the way, when I drove up, got situated, then sat down ready to photograph, it took the hummers 10 seconds to get there from the creosote bush.
[/URL]
It is one day at a time with the construction of our puppy house. For example, yesterday I had to stop to clean 40 pounds of roasted green chili.
[/URL]
I had to go to Albuquerque and on my way up, I stopped by the waterfowl management area that is just 30 miles north of town. Come on ducks!
Al
[/URL]
On the 22nd, we had a fantastic rain. Desert type where it just pounded for a while then let up and continued to rain for another 45 minutes. All the arroyos ran and the state dept. was busy with their front end loaders scraping gravel and rocks off the highway.
I was thrilled because the rain even gave me a duck pond in our backyard. By the way, that neighbor of ours is 1/4 mile away and on the other side of the arroyo.
On Saturday morning I woke up to a treat of pea-soup type fog which is a real treat out here. It took a while for the sun to burn it off.
This spider had been busy.
One of Bev's blue mist bushes.
An orange trumpet vine in full bloom. The hummers love it.
It is so unusual to see water on everything. This is one of our trees that we planted out by our kennel.
The labs were ready to be fed when I got there.
As I walked behind the kennel I noticed this when I looked to the northwest. The very bright light in the arroyo between our place and our neighbors.
I backed off with the camera to realize that this was actually the end of a rainbow and had I been traveling on the east side fo the Rio Grande, I would have seen the whole thing. I tried to capture a small portion of it.
One of our few rose bushes that remain. An old English type.
I decided to go get a breakfast burrito at my favorite restaurant in San Antonio, which is just 5 miles south of us.
What could be better than diving into this (the green chili was hot) and then reading a little bit about new waders?
When I got home I jumped in the Mule, got Chip and Serrano on the front seat with me and we went to go get the mail. Hot damn, my lucky day. I received 60 envelopes from the wing bee. What a great way to start this coming season.
I have already begun to fill in some of the blanks so that most of the paper work will be completed prior to the season starting. I once did it the hard way and would never want to do that again. What an honor to be chosen! Thank you to all the good folks in Maryland.
That evening I gazed out to the east to watch the shadows on the hills where some of New Mexico's wild horses are. The best news of all is that no one will take away this view from us.
On Sunday I decided to have some fun with the hummers since we still have quite a few here. The vast majority are now in Mexico however the rufous females and the juveniles are now here. The adult males rufous and calliope hummers have departed. Much like bluewing teal by the way. Very seldom have I ever shot an adult bluewing drake because they normally are in Mexico when our season opens around the middle of Sept.
Just a week ago the hummers were consuming over 2 gallons of nectar every day. Now with most of them gone we are down to feeding them just a touch over a gallon of nectar a day, which I guess is still a lot of hummingbirds when I think about it.
Some mass confusion at the feeder.
This looks to be an adult rufous female however the young male also look like this. Check on the left side of its face. Sure looks like another hummer's beak there.
Here is a juvenile black-chinned male. It has one purple feather on its neck which is the start of its gorget.
Check out this rufous with a cross-beak!
Here is an incoming adult male broadtail hummer. The sun hit his gorget just right.
Here is another one. He reminded me of the time I decided to test my knee out and climbed the last half mile to the top of Mt. Baldy, which is at 10,783 feet. That morning when the sun finally lit things up, I had one of these hummers hovering above my head while I stood at the very top of this mountain. It was hard to believe but true. Thank goodness these little marvels of the Americas have what is called "torpor". It will allow them to live in this environment during the summer.
This is how I had fun. I sat in comfort while taking their pictures. I made a crude hanger and then sat on the right hand side of the seat with my camera about 20 inches away from my subjects. By the way, when I drove up, got situated, then sat down ready to photograph, it took the hummers 10 seconds to get there from the creosote bush.
It is one day at a time with the construction of our puppy house. For example, yesterday I had to stop to clean 40 pounds of roasted green chili.
I had to go to Albuquerque and on my way up, I stopped by the waterfowl management area that is just 30 miles north of town. Come on ducks!
Al
