Albuquerque Christmas

We were so blessed to have some time off at Christmas to make a run to Albuquerque and visit sis-n-law Ginger, enjoy some NewMex-Mex, and do some birding. Even got in a bonus visit with cuz Waid and his new bride. And oh yeah, can't miss lunch at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe.

Ginger took us walking along the Rio Grande River in west Albuquerque. Some great birding.

Here we are at the train headed for a day trip to Santa Fe.

The train station in Santa Fe.

Ah. La Plaza restaurant in the La Fonda Hotel.

It's a special place.

Step outside and you're viewing one of the oldest Cathedrals in the U.S.

Wouldn't be the Plaza without the Indian jewelry craftsmen.

Ginger's home is on the east side of town, up against the mountains. In the evening all you have to do is step outside, look to the west, and you see all the lights of the city.

Special treat to be with my cousin Waid and his new bride Phyllis. You can check out his artwork at www.griffin-art.com.

Canadian Geese on the Rio Grande.

Is it an Albuquerque turkey? Yes! My best photo ever of a Great Roadrunner. It was very accommodating, even striking a few poses for me. Griffins be warned, you may see this image on a mug or two next Christmas.

I was having some fun with this guy.

Back at Ginger's porch in the morning, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, also known as a Myrtle Warbler. Bet Ginger didn't know she had these!

The Junco has been very illusive at our place, but obviously a regular at Ginger's feeder.

The House Finches bring some color to the mix.

We love our trips to ABQ at Christmas. Special memories.

Winter Ducks Addenda

Well, I couldn't help myself. Just had to try to get a shot of the Ringneck female doing the dive. So while out this afternoon on the hunt, I get surprised by a big bird never seen on the pond. Enjoy my short addenda.

The two Ringnecks that are still hanging around the pond, both female.

This is the best shot I got. They rise up and dive, but you gotta be quick!

So welcome the Double-crested Cormorant. The only reason it has to be this breed is because all the others live in Nova Scotia! I was amazed when this big bird just dropped in all by his lonesome, and proceeded to dive and swim underwater across most of the pond. At first I thought it was a Great Blue Heron, because we don't usually get water birds this size.

Winter of Ducks on the Pond

We have been blessed this winter with the most amazing variety of ducks visiting our glorified stock tank we call the pond. Enjoy the sampling, and forgive any mis-identification. I have been poring over my Crossley Guide to get these right.

A couple of male Gadwalls. This has been our most common visitor over the years, even when no others drop by.

Gadwalls 'dunk' to do their eating, so it's 'tails up' on a regular basis.

Female Gadwall cruising close to my side of the pond.

First-time visitors, the male and female Northern Pintail. A very regal posture, and a long neck displayed on take-off.

I readied my camera to fire some shots off as soon as they were startled.

Knew I had a different duck when I got the shot, but didn't realize I had two different ducks. The one in full profile is a Redhead. The one to the left is a Canvasback. So there!

Related to the Redhead in that they are both 'divers' for food, this is the Ringneck. Some think the better name would be 'Ring-bill', because there is a distinct white ring close to the tip of its bill.

The male Ringneck duck, one we hadn't seen before this year.

About the same time the Ringnecks came in, some ducks with especially long bills also arrived. Another newbie, this is the Northern Shoveler, and sometimes they like to duck their heads under and do a little circle dance. Yeah, I googled it, nothing to do with mating! (They say they don't know why!)

A Ringneck and a Northern Shoveler, female or developing male.

This is another one that caught me by surprise, because I didn't even realize I had a picture of an unusual visitor. This is the Green-winged Teal.

The Northern Shoveler and her very long bill.

We had a male Mallard at one time, and even though many ducks resemble these, I believe they are female Mallards.

Sorry for the fuzzy pic, but wanted to show the female Ringneck Duck.

We still have the Ringnecks here, and winter isn't over, so we may have some more to share later.