kiwifoto.com

It was chilly and blustery, albeit sunny, in northern New Mexico this weekend. On Saturday afternoon we visited the Randall Davey Audubon Center just outside of Santa Fe. There were several Townsend’s Solitaires flying around the parking lot as we pulled up. Many of the other regular stuff, such as Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon and Pink-sided), etc.

On Sunday we decided to make the 2.5 hour trek northward to Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge which was only 25 or so miles from the Colorado border. Within a few moments I immediately found a Northern Shrike. Lots of other winter raptor specialties included Ferruginous Hawk, Golden Eagle along with 2 adult Bald Eagles and 1 juvenile. And I must say, at least 200+ Mountain Bluebirds!! I guess this is *THE* place and time to go if you want to see them.

Share on Facebook

Spent the morning at North Chagrin Nature Center near Willoughby Hills, OH. Although my intention for going there was to locate and photograph the 3-5 Common Redpolls that were recently reported there, I never did find them. I did get a lot better photos of some of the more “common” backyard birds for our friends in the Eastern United States so the effort wasn’t completely in vain.

I scored, what I consider A+, photos of Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse and Downy Woodpecker among many others. See for yourself!

Share on Facebook

It’s been a long while since my last post but I finally managed to get out and do something. Although our trip was primarily focused around wine tasting with friends in the Willamette Valley I managed to sneak away a couple of mornings. I was fortunate enough to be invited to Christine Sheridan’s property in Sherwood, OR where all of these photos were taken. Highlights were really Pileated Woodpecker and better shots of Chestnut-backed Chickadees.

Also spent some time up Larch Mountain hoping for Gray Jays but completely struck out. We had an American Three-toed Woodpecker and several MacGillivray’s Warblers calling but I was not able to get any photos.

We’re off to Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite next weekend and SE Arizona the weekend after so lots of updates to come this month.

Share on Facebook