21-JUL-2010
American Robin #8630
Our blackberries are almost finished, so the Robins are going after the tiny little berries that we have not picked for ourselves. Our berry bushes have lots of thorns -- I do not know how the birds manage to rummage around in them without getting scratched up.
20-JUL-2010
House Finch #8038
We are in the middle of the summer season, and there is not much variety in the birds that visit us. The most reliable visitors are House Finches, followed by hummingbirds. We also see Doves (Eurasian Collared-Doves and White-winged Doves), Lesser Goldfinches. The black birds (Brewer's, Grackles) have gone.
19-JUL-2010
Chinese Geese #7993
In the middle of the Los Alamos townsite, we have a small pond that dates back to the days when there was a Ranch School here that was acquired by the government for the Manhattan Project. There is a small group of domesticated water fowl that stay there except in the coldest part of the winter, when the pond freezes over (and then the birds have no way to escape from predators, e.g., coyotes). At that time, there is a small volunteer group that houses them safely until springtime. The numbers of birds fluctuates due to a variety of reasons, predation on the one hand, and abandoned Easter ducks on the other. This is a pair of the longer-term residents, Chinese Geese (one of the brown form and one of the white form). Chinese Geese are a domesticated form of the Swan Goose.
18-JUL-2010
Lesser Goldfinch (Black-backed form) #7870
Here's another Lesser Goldfinch picture, of a male that fits better classified as a Black-backed form. Note there are relatively few mini-feathers on its back that are light in color, and the feathers below the eye are very dark, with a few light yellow feathers right at the lower eye border. This photo is for comparison with the one I posted yesterday, of the green-backed form.
17-JUL-2010
Lesser Goldfinch (Green-backed form) #7725
The picture for today (and tomorrow) shows a male Lesser Goldfinch on the thistle sock. I have noticed that the Lessers here come in a green-backed subspecies (found mostly in the west) and a black-backed subspecies (found mostly in the east). Tomorrow's entry shows the black-backed one for comparison. Here on the eastern part of the Rockies, the ranges of the two subspecies overlaps, and so we get both forms, as well as mixtures of the two. This one is a pretty true example of the green-backed form.
16-JUL-2010
Rufous Hummingbird #7487
Our migrant summer visitor, the Rufous Hummingbird, is going to get my vote for the most photogenic bird of the summer. His iridescent throat feathers are brown when he's in the shade, but when the light shines on them, they are bright orange, fading to green along the sides. He's been a very frequent visitor, acting more and more territorial all the time, chasing away the Black-chinned Hummingbirds who mistakenly thought they owned the feeder.
15-JUL-2010
House Finches #7304
We are still seeing lots of House Finches. The male takes an active role in parenting. Everywhere he goes, the juveniles tag along, and he offers them food from time to time. The juveniles are getting more self-confident though, as I see them going off on their own more and more.
14-JUL-2010
Lesser Goldfinch eating Lavender Blossoms #6691
As I was heading out of the house to a meeting, I noticed this Lesser Goldfinch hopping around in the lavender bushes. So I went back into the house and grabbed the camera to see what he was up to. I was surprised to see that he appears to be eating either the blossoms, or perhaps seeds? We are nearing the end of the lavenders blooming, so it isn't clear exactly what he was after. In any case, he looks nice mixed in among the lavenders.
13-JUL-2010
American Robin Stealing Blackberries #6559
Our blackberries are beginning to ripen, but it is not clear we will ever get to eat any of them, because the Robins snatch them before we are ready to pick them ourselves. The Robins have been ignoring us for over a month now, but now that we have something interesting in our back yard, there are often two or more hanging around all the time. Bird netting over the bushes helps, but only a little.
11-JUL-2010
Black-chinned Hummingbird (Female) #6340
The Black-chinned Hummingbirds (and especially the females) have been fairly regular visitors to their feeder. In another several weeks, some of the summer flowers should start blooming, and I hope to get some pictures of them in a more natural setting.
10-JUL-2010
House Sparrow #6251
There's not much to add that's new today, only saw House Finches and Sparrows. This fellow perched nicely on the edge of the rock at the top of the pond. The males seem to be helping quite a bit with the feeding of the juveniles. They gather some sunflower chips, feed it to the juveniles, then get a drink of water, and repeat (forever).
09-JUL-2010
Rufous Hummingbird #6219
Here's a different bird -- Rufous Hummingbirds migrate through New Mexico in the middle to late summer, and I have seen several over the last ten days or so. They are very easy to pick out from a distance, appearing almost completely orange when hovering. This one caught the corner of my eye while I was looking over into a dark bush, so the photo is quite blurry and highly cropped, but there's enough detail left that you can see generally what the bird looks like here, as he takes off from the feeder.
