Well, here we are and another month has zipped by but at least we seem to be moving into Spring with trees and flowers starting to come into bloom and a couple of days finally breaking away from the cold of the last few months. It’s been most satisfying seeing butterflies starting to fly again. Sometimes in winter there can be days that are warm and sunny enough to spot butterfly species that overwinter as adults in the leaf litter out and about. But not this year, and it’s been a little surprising not seeing Mourning Cloaks, Hoary Commas, or any others at all.
One of the first species I keep an eye out for is the Sandia Hairstreak.
Sandia Hairstreak (Callophrys mcfarlandi)
This is a pretty special one, which was first discovered in the foothills of the Sandias in 1958, and named as the New Mexico state butterfly in 2004. It’s always fun to point them out to folks, and there are usually one or two visitors from other states who contact me to help them see one. I’d heard they were flying here as early as March 1, but wouldn’t see my first until March 4.
Next up was the Southwestern Orangetip, which I’d first see on March 12.
Southwestern Orangetip (Anthocharis thoosa)
Although I’ve seen as many as six on a few other recent outings, this is the only one I managed to find perched; especially early in the season they seem to be constantly in motion and rarely land long enough to photograph.
Seemed a little early in the year for Lupine Blue, but I’ve been seeing them in Embudito since March 20.
Lupine Blue (Icaricia lupini)
It’s also been fun since March 12 seeing Spring White.
Spring White (Sisymbria sisymbrii)
Two others that have appeared within the last week have been the aforementioned Mourning Cloak,
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
and the first of what are usually plenty of Common Checkered-Skipper.
Common Checkered-Skipper (Burnsius communis)
There have been a few other butterfly species starting to fly by now, too, and I’m looking forward to this year’s butterfly season taking off over the next months.
Haven’t had much luck photographing birds this month, but will share some in the rest of this post. Early in the month, a friend gave me a pretty good idea of where a Great Horned Owl had started nesting in Corrales that had me running over there to take a look. Although easy to find the location from her directions, it still took a bit of work to actually spot the nest. After first checking around the area for any old hawk nests, I next worked up and down the trail a ways looking for any promising cavities. At last a clue appeared in a single downy feather clinging to a likely cavity (center of this photo).
Great Horned Owl – Corrales
Looking a little closer, I noticed the flat tail feathers just to the left of that downy feather. And by moving around to the side of the tree, I got a quick look at Mom tucked in there.
Great Horned Owl – Corrales
Not much point in going back for awhile since she’s so well hidden, but could be fun to visit when the little ones pop up.
Made another visit to Piedras Marcadas Basin recently, but only saw one of the owls rather than the two close together on some other visits.
Great Horned Owl – Piedras Marcadas Basin
If they’re nesting now, it’s not obvious where. In the past, these have always used old hawk nests but of the few seen there this year none looked occupied.
Multiple reports of a Lewis’s Woodpecker and several Acorn Woodpeckers near Mars Court prompted us to take a look on March 10. No luck on the Lewis’s, but we did get some good looks at the Acorn Woodpecker and an acceptable photo.
Acorn Woodpecker
A few times recently I’ve noticed our Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays being quite active and more intensely colored than usual, which has me wondering if this implies breeding is about to commence.
Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay
Another bird seen on most visits to Embudito lately is the Canyon Towhee, this one confronting me at the entrance to the canyon.
Canyon Towhee
Last week had us down at Bosque del Apache NWR for the first time since January. Unexpectedly cloudy conditions (but at least a reasonably comfortable temperature) made viewing a bit tough and may have kept some birds hidden. After reading about them in the Visitor Center, it was amazing almost immediately spotting some Eared Grebes quite close to the road on the large pond just past the refuge entrance.
Eared Grebe
While driving around, we ran into a couple from Texas visiting in hopes of seeing their first Greater Roadrunner. After they drove off somewhat ahead of us, we had one on the road right next to us, but they told us they’d missed it when we caught up to them a minute later. We continued on and sure enough, soon had another one standing on the road just ahead. Gesticulating wildly, we got the attention of those folks back in the distance and, yay, got them on their lifer roadrunner!
Final pictures of the day were of a female Northern Harrier busy eating lunch in a nearby field, which soon finished and flew off.
Another slow month for me as far as photos go, but here’s a few from February. A number of missed opportunities this month where one gets a quick look at a bird, but it disappears before getting the camera lined up and focused. Things have usually been a little slow for me out there, too, which is not unusual given the winter weather. That’s okay, though, as things should start picking up soon as it gets a little warmer and we close in on spring.
One day had me wandering around Alameda Open Space for awhile, missing some good shots of Ruby-crowned Kinglet and seeing both male and female Common Mergansers at too far a distance….a Great Blue Heron was hanging out near the Mergansers that came out okay.
Great Blue Heron
A bit surprising was seeing the Great Egret fairly close in the pond near the parking lot. It had been reported being in the area for some time, but I wasn’t expecting to find it so easily.
Great Egret
A couple other photos from some of my regular visits to Embudito Canyon include a Canyon Towhee,
Canyon Towhee
and a Cactus Wren.
Cactus Wren
Expecting our Sandia Hairstreaks to appear any day now in Embudito, so have been visiting even more frequently for about the last week. That will signal the start of this year’s butterfly season and should turn up a number of early species for the year.
On February 16, Rebecca and I did an almost 3 mile loop from the Open Space Visitor Center for the Great Backyard Bird Count, managing to spot 32 species for the count. One of those was a Ladder-backed Woodpecker; here’s a photo of one of three individuals we’d see that day.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
After some friends had asked about directions to the Great Horned Owl at Calabacillas Arroyo (shown in my last post), I took another look to remind myself of the location and hopefully find them nesting by now. No luck on the nesting, but one of the owls was in exactly the same spot as almost 3 weeks earlier. And great to hear that my friends easily found it the next day in the same spot.
Great Horned Owl
Another day walking the trails at Pueblo Montaño, while slow for birds (and missing that pesky Western Screech-Owl others had spotted in a cavity recently), did turn up several porcupines. As I was headed back to my car, it was entertaining watching a couple walking toward me who hadn’t noticed the porcupine just across the trail working its way down from maybe 8′ high in a small tree. Rarely do I see porcupines other than snoozing away the day high in a tree; to see one awake and moving is always a treat. Pointing it out to the couple certainly got their attention, too.
Porcupine
Lately, it seems the American Robins have arrived in good numbers and are being seen in fairly large groups especially in the foothills. Didn’t get the best photos of that, but did see my first Townsend’s Solitaire of the year near a few of the robins.
Townsend’s Solitaire
Pretty amazing to me, but recently realized that this will be the 378th blog posting that I started on March 5, 2011…only 3 days to its 13th anniversary! Hope y’all have been enjoying it.
Once again, an entire month has slipped by without my getting around to updating the blog. Haven’t seen much on most of those times when I have gotten out there, and missed a couple of photo opportunities (most notably an adult Bald Eagle perched on a cottonwood on the east side of the Rio Grande in the bosque near the Nature Center – took off before I could even get my camera up and focused on it!). But here are some of the photos from the past month.
From Embudito on the second day of the year are two of probably four Black-throated Sparrows right near the wilderness fence. While they can be seen here year-round, they seem to me more common to see in summer.
Black-throated Sparrow
A few days later, Rebecca and I went looking for the Eurasian Wigeon that was being seen at Mariposa Basin Park. First reported on January 2, we’d easily spot it with a few other folks on January 6, and its been there awhile with the latest report from January 27.
Eurasian Wigeon
Checked in on my pair of Great Horned Owls in Piedras Marcadas Basin on January 10 for the first time since November. Interestingly, while pretty well-hidden in the dead leaves, they were quite close together on a branch.
Great Horned Owl – Piedras Marcadas Basin
Another trip to Embudito, this time the highlight was a Greater Roadrunner on the north side of the canyon who’d run a short distance before stopping and looking around,
Greater Roadrunner
before running on. Pretty cold out that morning, and it seemed what he was really interested in was finding a good spot to fluff up and get warm.
Greater Roadrunner
A trip to Bernardo Wildlife Area turned up a few good birds one Saturday. While we wouldn’t get the secretive Varied Thrush others had reported, a White-crowned Sparrow posed nicely for me,
White-crowned Sparrow
and I got a close look at a Bewick’s Wren next to the trail.
Bewick’s Wren
Along the shoreline of the largest pond, we’d get good looks at the rather uncommon Least Sandpiper. A tough call for me, but Rebecca recognized its call when it flew off, and the Merlin app supported that identification.
Least Sandpiper
We’d been there for a few hours without the large flock of Snow Geese doing much more than paddling around, when suddenly they all took off in an amazing sky-filling display.
Snow Geese
Knowing that event is usually instigated by the arrival of an eagle, we started scanning around and soon spotted the juvenile Bald Eagle causing all the commotion (photo good enough to make the id, but not shown here.)
Almost two weeks later following a friend’s direction, I’d spot our first nesting Great Horned Owl for the season (not a great photo, but best I could do that day).
Great Horned Owl – Solar Road
The last Saturday in January had us down at Bosque del Apache NWR for the first time in months. (We’d been in the area for their Christmas Bird Count 12/16, but our assigned area is outside the refuge itself.) Got a nice close-up of a White-winged Dove at the Visitor Center,
White-winged Dove
and later a pretty good shot of a Northern Pintail in one of the ponds.
Northern Pintail
While not the greatest photos, it was fun seeing one of the Tundra Swans
Tundra Swan
and then the White-tailed Kite.
White-tailed Kite
After the refuge, we took another look around Bernardo Wildlife Area on the drive home – here’s a picture of a few Sandhill Cranes flying over a huge number of others working the cornfield.
Sandhill Cranes
And, of course, can’t wrap this up without one more Great Horned Owl, this time from today at Calabacillas Arroyo. Haven’t seen any there in months, but saw a report of two from January 14. Only saw the one today, but in one of its usual perching spots – expect we’ll have them nesting somewhere any day now, so return visits definitely in order.
Wow! Here it is 12/31/23, a date that only comes around once a century and such an auspicious number – 123123 – as we move on to 2024. A little more than a month since my last post, but wanted to get a last one out for 2023.
It was pretty slow for photos in December due to a combination of factors, such as not getting out there nearly as often as usual and not having many photo opportunities when I do. Was also out of town for a few days in early December on a fun trip to the French Quarter in New Orleans, and spent quite a bit of time fooling around on the computer going through all my photos from the past year deciding which to delete and which to archive, and working up a new website for the new Bird Alliance of Central New Mexico (formerly Central New Mexico Audubon Society). Of 756 bird and butterfly photos I’d saved temporarily this year, I ended up archiving 362 on my website at http://sandianet.com/.
Only three photos to share from December this time, including our first snow of the season (from my front yard) the morning of December 2.
Snow on the Sandias – Dec. 2, 2023
Second is a Pyrrhuloxia from the first of our Christmas Bird Counts..the Bosque del Apache NWR count on December 16 (3,636 birds/46 species), highlighted by the brief sighting of a Vermilion Flycatcher.
Pyrrhuloxia
The third is this Sage Sparrow from our second CBC…the Albuquerque count on December 17. For the Albuquerque CBC, we do several areas near the petroglyphs close to the western boundary of the count circle, walking about 4 miles to look for birds. Small numbers (176 birds/17 species), but we’d get the only Loggerhead Shrike and Sage Sparrows (13) for the count which I thought was pretty cool.
Sage Sparrow
We’d do a third CBC, the Sandia Mountains count, on December 26, but while we’d see 490 individual birds of 21 species, I didn’t manage to take any photos.
So that’s a wrap for this year. Happy New Year, y’all! Should be fun seeing what’s out there as 2024 gets underway.
Hmmm, this is starting to become a trend. In the past I’d usually post a blog update every couple of weeks or following a trip somewhere, but lately it’s when I realize nearly a month has passed since the last update. Still fun to share some photographs and stories of what’s been happening.
So here’s a little of what November’s been like for me. One of my sisters popped in on Halloween for a day or so before meeting up with her book club group in Santa Fe, and on November 1 we drove up to Capulin Spring for a visit to “The Log.” A little slow there that morning for birds, which we mostly attributed to the presence of this character patiently waiting on said Log.
Cooper’s Hawk
After it flew off, a few birds came in for a drink, but the hawk kept buzzing the area and was again perched on the log as we left the area. While it was off somewhere, I did get a nice shot of a Red-breasted Nuthatch, one of the few species seen that morning,
Red-breasted Nuthatch
and another of one of the several chipmunks running around.
Chipmunk
A few days later, we made another run down to Bernardo Wildlife Area…no pheasants this time, but we did get pretty good looks at what we believe is a Greater Yellowlegs. Tricky to separate from Lesser Yellowlegs, but we did hear the Greater’s call as it flew off.
Greater Yellowlegs
Another day in my local patch, Embudito Canyon, it was fun to catch a Cactus Wren busy refurbishing its winter roosting nest. First saw it fly inside for a bit before coming back out with a bit of grass.
Cactus Wren
In anticipation of the Albuquerque Christmas Bird Count, we’ve made a couple of scouting trips to locations we hope to get a few good species on the the day of the count. We’ve seen a Crissal Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, and an unexpected Peregrine Falcon out there, but also several each of both Rock Wren
Rock Wren
and Sagebrush Sparrow.
Sagebrush Sparrows
Other outings have provided opportunities for a few good photos. A month after my last visit, wandering around the Piedras Marcadas Basin for the Great Horned Owl I’d been seeing there since mid-August turned up a pair of Great Horned Owls basking in a glowing cottonwood.
Great Horned Owls – Piedras Marcadas Basin
Two other fun ones included this bunch of Western Bluebirds that flew into a tree high above Embudito Canyon,
Western Bluebirds
and a Say’s Phoebe at much closer viewing range.
Say’s Phoebe
After numerous attempts, a visit to Rio Grande Nature Center finally gave me a pretty good look at one of the male Hooded Mergansers.
Hooded Merganser
We’ve visited the Biopark Zoo twice this month, first to see the recently opened and most impressive new Asia Exhibit, and again the day after Thanksgiving with our visiting friends. On our first visit, the weather was still nice and led to some nice photos, one of which was a Snow Leopard in its new habitat.
Snow Leopard
On the second visit, however, with it being quite cool and a little breezy, a number of the animals were probably inside or hunkered down outside keeping warm. Flamingos seemed okay with it, tucking their heads in as seen on other visits (background of this scene caught my attention).
Flamingo
Peacocks, however, were a bit more scarce and at one point we spotted a couple of them tucked in the grass keeping warm.
Peacock
The Cheetahs didn’t seem to mind the cold at all and were just lazing around as usual.
Cheetahs
On earlier visits, the hippos were always floating in their pond with just the top of their heads visible. But this time, maybe because of the weather (?), an adult came up out of the pond followed by one one the younger ones allowing for a nice portrait.
Well, here we are at the end of October and once again not too many photos to share. Weather’s been close to perfect the entire month and just at the end giving us a taste of the colder days to come. I have managed to get out there regularly enough, but the butterflies have been shutting down for the year while the birds seem to be keeping a little out of sight as new ones start arriving on their migration.
It was fun to see the Rock Wrens return for the winter as early as October 8 and pose long enough for a photograph.
Rock Wren
A few butterflies also posed over the following week including several sightings of the Gray Buckeye,
Gray Buckeye (Junonia grisea)
a somewhat less commonly seen Orange Skipperling in Corrales,
Orange Skipperling (Copaeodes aurantiaca)
and an Orange Sulphur seen while checking some extensive patches of Chamisa near my house.
Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)
There were a couple of days in Embudito that week when there seemed an unusually high number of Lupine Blues flying around. On October 15, I was able to get first a good dorsal view
Lupine Blue (Icaricia lupini)
as well as a ventral view.
Lupine Blue (Icaricia lupini)
Three days later, there seemed to be even more flying around including the three in this photo.
Lupine Blue (Icaricia lupini)
After that it seems it was the birds that started to catch my eye. I’d been surprised on August 12 to find a Great Horned Owl at Piedras Marcadas Dam, and that another birder had reported seeing two of them there about two weeks later. This was cool since nobody had reported them there since March 2018. I just happened to stop by again the morning of October 20 and managed to track one down in a different spot.
Great Horned Owl
It was fun pointing it out to one of the AMAFCA guys who’d parked his truck within sight of the owl, while others were busy doing some work at the far end of the dam. And also cool to see that same birder reporting seeing the pair together later in the day.
A couple days later had me out wandering the bosque near the Open Space Visitor Center. Pretty quiet birdwise for most of the morning, but hearing an unusual call got me looking at one of the cottonwoods only to spot a rather cooperative Red-naped Sapsucker.
Red-naped Sapsucker
It was off to Tingley a few days later having seen reports of good numbers of several ducks showing up along with a chance for a Belted Kingfisher. Instead, as I approached the southern pond there were three incredible photographer friends and a couple of other birding friends gathered at the north end of the pond. Sure enough, the immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was perched right there. A most unusual species for New Mexico, it had been reported there earlier in the month but not in the last several days. First I’ve seen in New Mexico and fun to grab a shot before it flew off across the pond.
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
On the last Friday of the month, Rebecca and I headed down to Bosque del Apache hoping to see the Nevada Buckmoth we’d seen there in past years. We’d see plenty of them, but none that ever landed for a picture. We would see our first Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese for the season, and I got a decent shot of my first Loggerhead Shrike for the year.
Loggerhead Shrike
On the way to Bosque del Apache, we first took a look around Bernardo Wildlife Area. On Facebook, someone had recently mentioned seeing six Ring-necked Pheasants there, so with rather low expectations it seemed worth the slow drive on the loop road. And, of course, just as we’d about given up one popped up out of the cornfield next to the road. Slowing to a stop, a second one appeared. Giving us several good opportunities for photos, first one then the other crossed the road to disappear into the brush. Took way too many photos, but here’s one of my favorites.
Not much to add from the last few weeks, but figured it was about time for a new post and wanted to share a few pictures. Weather’s been quite nice lately with comfortable temperatures…it’s always a treat to have a few weeks this time of year without needing either air conditioning or heating; even getting to leave bedroom windows open at night. Autumn colors are getting underway with the aspens high in the mountains, but the cottonwoods down by the river need a couple more weeks.
Still making the transition from butterflies to birds here as the former wind down for the season and the latter starting to arrive on their migration. At least for me, that means several outings where there are few if any sightings and even fewer opportunities for photos. One day at the Biopark’s Botanic Garden led to this photo of a male Wood Duck that turned out pretty well.
Wood Duck
At Embudito the next morning, I did see a very few butterflies and several good birds. The butterfly situation improved significantly by the time of our last butterfly survey for the season on Sept. 29 with 45 butterflies of 16 species vs. the Sept. 15 survey of only 2 butterflies. Birds included a Rock Wren (first of the season for me) and a Crissal Thrasher (also not very common).
Crissal Thrasher
Several other birds were also seen, but the only one that posed for his portrait was a Ladder-backed Woodpecker.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Calabacillas Arroyo wasn’t very active at all the day I visited, but did surprise me with this fresh Gray Buckeye just as I was leaving.
Gray Buckeye (Junonia grisea)
Bit of a gray day after that, but I’d wanted to take a look at the chamisa in my neighborhood that had come into full bloom already. No butterflies but I did get a decent ‘bird in flight’ photo of a Swainson’s Hawk (at what Google Maps tells me is ‘San Antonio Corridor City Park’).
Swainson’s Hawk
Fun weekend in Taos to attend the San Geronimo Feast Day at Taos Pueblo. The event was interesting to attend, but we left when the clouds started looking ominous. The next day, we looked around Taos a bit before heading home on the hunt for Black-billed Magpies. We had a few opportunities, but this was about the best I got.
Black-billed Magpie
At one of those spots, we’d get a look at a magpie but the better photograph was of a young Red-tailed Hawk perched close by.
Red-tailed Hawk
The following day had me driving up toward Sandia Crest, wanting to see how the aspen show was developing before company arrives for this year’s Balloon Fiesta. Surprisingly, NMDOT had blocked the road past Capulin Spring for the next few weeks for road construction. (They have announced, however, that they’ll have a flagging/pilot car operation during Fiesta to let folks drive to the Crest.) Aspen are looking pretty good from a distance, so could be worth getting up there soon. It was possible to park at Capulin Spring, where I had a great time having lots of birds pop by ‘The Log’ during a short visit. A few of the fun shots from there include a Red Crossbill,
Red Crossbill
a Steller’s Jay,
Steller’s Jay
and a Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
One last one…while photographing the log and nearby foliage, another Red-breasted Nuthatch happened to be waiting its turn next to me and almost too close for me to photograph.
With less than two weeks to go to the first day of Fall, there have been a few hints out there that summer is coming to an end. Not too many photos since my last update, but I have done better about getting out more often in recent weeks and here’s some of those photos.
At the end of one of our butterfly surveys from Capulin Spring to Balsam Glade, a good number of Red Crossbills were flitting about with some resting by a small puddle in the parking lot. Couldn’t get too close without them flying away, but here’s the best I could do.
Red Crossbill
The next morning had us working the ‘native plant gardens ‘Common Edge Habitat Field’ at the Open Space Visitor Center where we’d pick up a few butterflies, including several Bordered Patch butterflies
Bordered Patch (Chlosyne lacinia)
and even a Monarch.
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Didn’t get out much at all most of the next week for various reasons, but by the weekend was ready for a visit to Belen Marsh and Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area. A bit cloudy at first, but there were a few good birds at Belen Marsh, including this White-faced Ibis
White-faced Ibis
and several (Spotted – oops!) Solitary Sandpipers.
Solitary Sandpiper
Definitely sunnier by the time we got to Whitfield and we’d see a few butterflies, but we soon realized we’ll want to return later in September when other nectar sources are in bloom. I did get a photo of a Gray Buckeye, a species we haven’t seen many of this year,
Gray Buckeye (Junonia grisea)
didn’t get photos of several others including a Viceroy, another species not seen all that often around here, but did get good shots of a Painted Crescent (in one of the few places we’ve seen them). Here’s both the dorsal
Painted Crescent (Phyciodes picta)
and ventral views of this butterfly.
Painted Crescent (Phyciodes picta)
Also seen (briefly) that day were a number of Blue Grosbeaks; this is my best shot of one of them.
Blue Grosbeak
In Corrales a few days later, I got a nice shot of a Virginia’s Warbler.
Virginia’s Warbler
Very few butterflies around, but at a spot where I’d seen one about a year ago was a (bit tattered) Great Purple Hairstreak.
Great Purple Hairstreak (Atlides halesus)
Missed out on the Sonoran Metalmark I’d heard about in Embudito a day or so later, but did get a nice look at a Canyonland Satyr.
Canyonland Satyr (Cyllopsis pertepida)
The best news since June was the return of our Nepali friend, Anisha, back now with her husband, Sajan, in Portales to continue her graduate studies at ENMU. As mentioned in an earlier posting, they had been in Panama (looking at butterflies, of course) since mid-June. While there, Anisha went to her student visa appointment, but it was summarily denied and she was forced to fly halfway around the world back to Nepal and where she could try again if and when she could schedule another appointment. She fortunately landed an appointment on August 14 in Kolkata (a long, long train ride from Kathmandu), successfully got her visa, and then flew (an absurdly long journey) to Lubbock, TX where Sajan drove to meet her for the 2-hour drive back to Portales, arriving about 1 am August 28. With school later that morning, the jet lag must have been awful.
They both got right back into the swing of things even getting in some field work by the end of the week near Tucumcari and then camping in Carlsbad for more.
After hearing about what they’d seen near Tucumcari, we’d thought of driving there and knew the location from our earlier trip with Sajan in mid-July. It was truly wonderful meeting up with them there on Labor Day, seeing them happily back together, getting caught up on all that had transpired, and hearing their lives are back on track. Some excellent butterflies that day, too, including my first Common Mestra for New Mexico (and a mating pair at that!),
Common Mestra (Mestra amymone)
a crazy number of Fulvia Checkerspots actively hilltopping,
Fulvia Checkerspot (Chlosyne fulvia)
and excellent looks at Dotted Checkerspot (in that unsuspected location) – both from a dorsal view
Dotted Checkerspot (Poladryas minuta)
as well as ventral.
Dotted Checkerspot (Poladryas minuta)
Two other photos from that day of more common species are of a Southern Dogface
Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia)
and Bordered Patch.
Bordered Patch (Chlosyne lacinia)
A couple days later, Embudito turned up a few good butterflies, including one of a number of Arizona Sisters that arrived at the spring
Arizona Sister (Adelpha eulalia)
and the usual single Green Skipper.
Green Skipper (Hesperia viridis)
It was also fun seeing a Green-tailed Towhee busy doing its thing in the shade without seeming to notice my presence.
Green-tailed Towhee
A couple of days later on our last Capulin-Balsam butterfly survey for the season, a large caterpillar crossed our trail that I later identified as that of an Io Moth.
Io Moth Caterpillar
Just back from a quick overnight trip to look for a few birds at Las Vegas NWR and Storrie Lake SP, while staying at the recently restored historic Castaneda Hotel and celebrating an auspicious birthday of one of our good friends. Very much like Fall weather for the first time this year – cool, partly cloudy, even a bit of rain, and as hoped, a few good birds. Among the resulting pictures from the Las Vegas NWR is this one of a young Swainson’s Hawk working on a little snake snack (with its sibling pouting across the road)
Swainson’s Hawk
and a few of the Yellow-headed Blackbirds in a large flock we came across.
Yellow-headed Blackbird
At Storrie Lake SP, it was a treat to spot and get quite close to a Sanderling, a rather uncommon species here.
Sanderling
A short time later, we had a couple of Killdeer fly over to land in the grass close to the car.
Killdeer
It won’t be long until Fall really kicks in with those late season butterflies and migrating birds get underway.
Seems I’ve been been off doing something other than wandering around taking pictures for most of the last three weeks and won’t have many to share in this post. Shortly after my last post, Sajan (one of my Nepali friends) and I worked our way further up Embudito Canyon than usual after he’d reported seeing quite a few Wood-Nymphs including the rarely seen Mead’s Wood-Nymph. No luck that day for Mead’s, but we did see several Common Wood-Nymphs
Common Wood-Nymph (Cercyonis pegala)
and a few other species, including this Central Blue.
Central Blue (Euphilotes centralis)
The next day, we (Rebecca, Sajan, and me) drove out to San Mateo Spring out of Grants just north of Mt. Taylor. Turned out to be much drier than on past visits, so the butterflies weren’t as numerous as we’d hoped but we’d still have a good day. At a spot just before the spring, I would see my first (and surprisingly only) Tailed Copper for the year
Tailed Copper (Tharsalea arota)
and get a nice look at a male Pine White – previous visits provided good looks at several males and females.
Pine White (Neophasia menapia)
We’d also have a few Central Blue and Lupine Blue butterflies as well as Melissa Blue.
Melissa Blue (Plebejus melissa)
At San Mateo Spring itself things were a little more like normal with good numbers of Southwestern Fritillary and Hoary Comma and a few other species. Here’s the ventral view of one of the Southwestern Fritillaries,
Southwestern Fritillary (Argynnis nausicaa)
and a dorsal view of one of the others.
Southwestern Fritillary (Argynnis nausicaa)
This is a ventral view of one of about four Hoary Commas basically parked on the gravel close to the cattle guard.
Hoary Comma (Polygonia gracilis)
Best sighting of the day was Sajan’s Arachne Checkerspot. I don’t see checkerspots often, but he’s been finding them regularly this year in a variety of locations. After getting a few good looks at this one, here it is on Sajan’s finger. (I’m beginning to think it’s a pet he keeps in his pocket to bring out as needed.)
Arachne Checkerspot (Euphydryas arachne)
And now for something completely different. Almost a week later we took Sajan to our local zoo to see a few new animals before he headed back to Portales to continue his graduate studies. Rarely do I take pictures of such things let alone post them in the blog, but here’s a few from that morning I enjoyed….one of the flamingos in the early morning light,
Flamingo – Albuquerque Biopark Zoo
a portrait pose of one of the peacocks wandering around the grounds,
Peacock – Albuquerque Biopark Zoo
and one of a Snow Leopard having a snack.
Snow Leopard – Albuquerque Biopark Zoo
Managed to get out to Cienega Canyon on August 4 (the day Rebecca dropped Sajan off in Portales before heading on to visit family in Texas), where I’d see the cutleaf coneflower in full bloom all over the large meadow and attracting good butterflies. There were large numbers of Juniper Hairstreaks nectaring on the coneflower and other nectar sources, including this one that might be about to be confronted by a spider.
Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gyneus) wi/spider
Here’s one of a Dun Skipper on the coneflower (with some other insect hiding there in the shadows).
Dun Skipper (Euphyes vestris)
Oddly, (getting back to the theme of this post), I’ve taken almost no photos since that day. Just wasn’t motivated to get out there as usual, but did get around to a few house chores and computer tasks, some targeted shopping trips, and even a bit of yard work. Headed out last Saturday thinking of looking for a few birds at Pueblo Montaño, but surprised at how cloudy it got and instead stopped in at Piedras Marcadas Dam to check on this year’s milkweed crop (crazy good for Monarchs some years – caterpillars, chrysalises, adults). Unfortunately, much of the area seems to have been mowed recently and there was very little milkweed. However, for the first time in about five years and without trying very hard, I was surprised to find a Great Horned Owl perched in one of the cottonwood trees.
Great Horned Owl (Piedras Marcadas Dam)
That’s about it this time. Birds and butterflies are still out there, so I’ll be getting out more regularly to take a look.
After my last post, I’d thought of waiting until the end of July for my next one. But with a week still to go, there’s just been too much going on and way too many excellent butterflies to put this off. As mentioned in my last post, our Nepali friend, Sajan, is visiting and we’ve been off on a number of outings in search of more butterflies to add to his lifelist. He’s rather remarkably skilled in spotting and instantly identifying the little critters, and regularly finds species we’ve rarely seen in different locations and even a few we’ve never seen before. On top of that, we were visited by two of the top US butterfliers, Jeff Glassberg and Kim Garwood, who Sajan got to meet and who joined us on some of our adventures.
We spent the first week of July with short trips to a few of our local spots in the Sandia Mountains, starting at Sandia Crest on July 1. Nothing too exciting butterfly-wise that day, but an unusual number of Taxiles Skippers, just one of which, a female, is shown here.
Taxiles Skipper (Lon taxiles)
(For those who might be wondering, another project of mine recently was to update my lifelist with the latest Pelham taxonomy which was used for the Latin names in this post.)
The most interesting sighting for the day, however, was of a Leda Ministreak in the Kiwanis Meadow at an elevation of ~10,500′. This is nothing like (per Steve Cary) their preferred mesquite scrub-thorn habitat and usual elevation <6000′, although they have been reported to 9500′.
Leda Ministreak (Ministrymon leda)
A couple of days later had us making a stop at the 8000′ marker now that the dogbane was coming into bloom and beginning to attract some good butterflies. Highlight of the stop was Behr’s Hairstreak, a species we’d only seen there in 2015 and 2016.
Behr’s Hairstreak (Satyrium behrii)
Two more photos of much more commonly seen species, but I thought they turned out well, first a Marine Blue,
Marine Blue (Leptotes marina)
and then a Mylitta Crescent (top) with a Dun Skipper (bottom).
Mylitta Crescent (top) and Dun Skipper (bottom
In other recent visits I missed, a few other fun ones were seen including Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and Colorado Hairstreak. After that, we drove up to Balsam Glade and unpaved NM 165 through Las Huertas Canyon. Not much flying that day, but it was fun when Sajan spotted a Small Wood-Nymph near an open meadow.
Small Wood-Nymph (Cercyonis oetus)
Next up was a 5-day trip to Eagle Nest/Angel Fire, then up through Red River to Taos Ski Valley, and US 64 to Hopewell Lake and on to Chama, where we’d hoped to find Sajan some more lifers at some of our favorite spots along the way.
Our first stop on the trip was in Angel Fire, where we quickly spotted one of our target species, Blue Copper.
Blue Copper (Tharsalea heteronea)
This was also where we met up with Kim Garwood (well-known for her work on Neotropical Butterflies and who I’d first met on her month-long Peru trip in 2014 – See my 2014 Peru Butterfly Tour blog post.). After our two days in Eagle Nest with Kim, we’d catch up with her again a week later in Albuquerque. Two more butterflies we’d see later that day (Angel Fire and Eagle Nest) were the Central (or Square-spotted) Blue
Central Blue (Euphilotes centralis)
and Spalding’s Blue.
Spalding’s Blue (Euphilotes spaldingi)
There were several more goodies to be seen around Eagle Nest and Cimarron Canyon the next day. (Unfortunately, habitat changes at our old spots kept us from seeing many of our expected Ruddy Copper or even Purplish Copper.) Following are a few of those seen, one of the Ruddy Copper,
Ruddy Copper (Tharsalea rubidus)
several Riding’s Satyr,
Riding’s Satyr (Oeneis ridingsii)
some Uncas Skipper,
Uncas Skipper (Hesperia uncas)
and a couple of Sonoran (or Mexican) Metalmark.
Sonoran Metalmark (Apodemia mejicanus)
Sunday morning, it was off to Taos Ski Valley for another target species, the Arctic (or Purplish) Fritillary. We’d parked near the Bavarian Restaurant (~10,200′), and would walk around the area before going a ways down a trail following a creek. A few of the butterflies we saw included that Arctic Fritillary,
Arctic Fritillary (Boloria chariclea helena)
some Southwestern Fritillary,
Southwestern Fritillary (Argynnis nausicaa)
a surprising Common Alpine (a species I’d only seen before buried in the grass at Santa Fe Ski Basin),
Common Alpine (Erebia epipsodea)
a Margined White perched on damp moss,
Margined White (Pieris marginalis)
and even a Large Marble.
Large Marble (Euchloe ausonides)
That afternoon, we decided to ride a chairlift higher up from our hotel at ~9,400′ up to ~11,100′. That’s about as high up as these old bones are willing to go these days, but youthful Sajan immediately set off heading ever higher on a quest for some high elevation species. And, sure enough, he’d easily get his Rocky Mountain Parnassian and Chryxus Arctic, species I’ve only seen once before in Wyoming on a trip with Jim Brock in 2013. About my only photo from up there was of a Draco Skipper.
Draco Skipper (Polites draco)
Things got interesting a little later that afternoon. We’d decided to take the chairlift back down and check into our hotel, while Sajan was off chasing butterflies. We’d called him to remind him the last chairlift down was at 4:30, but that was about when he realized there were quite a few chairlifts in the area, and he was nowhere near the only one operating. That had all of us a little worried, but he eventually made his way over to where we’d parked earlier that morning (just a two mile drive from where we’d gone up the chairlift :-)). All worked out in the end fortunately, and he did get some great butterflies during his long hike out.
The next morning we woke up to a fabulous double rainbow before heading off to Chama.
Double Rainbow – Taos Ski Valley
Our main focus for that day was Hopewell Lake, where we’d hoped to see Silver-bordered Fritillary. We were unsuccessful last year, but were surprised that time to see Anicia Checkerspot and high numbers of both Common and Small Wood-Nymph. Oddly, the Wood-Nymphs were quite rare this trip, and most of the butterflies this time were quite different. For example, we had quite a few Common Ringlet (a species we rarely come across),
Common Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia)
plenty of Common Alpine (before this trip only seen at Santa Fe Ski Basin),
Common Alpine (Erebia epipsodea)
and several Anicia Checkerspot.
Anicia Checkerspot (Euphydryas anicia)
We’d also find a couple of Queen Alexandra’s Sulphur (we’d only seen them twice before in New Mexico),
Queen Alexandra’s Sulphur (Colias alexandra)
and a lifer sighting of Scudder’s Sulphur.
Scudder’s Sulphur (Colias scudderii)
We’d also see a few more common species such as Nevada Skipper,
Nevada Skipper (Hesperia nevada)
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell,
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti)
and a bit less common Mormon Fritillary.
Mormon Fritillary (Argynnis mormonia)
Best sighting of the day, however, involved a search over quite a large area when Rebecca spotted our target Silver-bordered Fritillary, which we’d only seen once before on that 2013 Wyoming trip with Jim Brock.
Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria myrina)
Our mission accomplished, it was on to Chama for the last night of the trip, stopping along the way at a few spots that had been good for some unusual fritillaries last year. Not nearly as good this time, perhaps due to different timing of the cutleaf coneflower bloom. That evening, we were entertained by a group of Lewis’s Woodpeckers in the trees near our cabin at the Chama River Bend Lodge.
Lewis’s Woodpecker
The next morning, we spent some time at the Edward Sargent WMA nearby, once again surprised to see more Anicia Checkerspot and Common Alpine, but not much else other than a Great Spangled Fritillary. From there, it was only about a 3 hour drive back to Albuquerque for a few more good butterfly trips.
We’d heard from Jeff Glassberg a week earlier he’d arrive in Albuquerque the day after our return, on his second attempt for a Mexican Sootywing in the U.S., a followup to his unsuccessful first attempt with us in 2021. Jeff is the president of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA), has written a number of excellent butterfly guidebooks, runs butterfly tours nationally and internationally, and is a recognized expert in the field. He’d asked if we’d like to join him on this quest, and we were planning on giving it a shot. We’d been a little concerned on recently hearing that one of our most reliable spots for that butterfly wouldn’t be accessible due to a temporary USFS road closure. Following up on Jeff’s suggestion, it was quite a relief to get a one-day exemption from the Mountainair Ranger District for the day after I contacted them to explain our situation. The District Ranger was quite understanding and helpful in having his signed authorization letter and a key to the gate available when we arrived that morning. And, yes, Jeff indeed finally got his U.S. Mexican Sootywing!
Mexican Sootywing (Pholisora mejicanus)
We’d see a nice variety of other species during our time there, especially with the cutleaf coneflower and bee balm finally coming into bloom. One of those was a Black Swallowtail on the bee balm,
Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)
and on the coneflower our first Pine White for the season,
Pine White (Neophasia menapia)
as well as a nicely-posed Russet Skipperling.
Russet Skipperling (Piruna pirus)
Jeff would head out the next day to Capitan on a successful hunt for another one of his U.S. target species – Orange-headed Roadside-Skipper.
Meanwhile, the rest of us made a day trip to one of Sajan’s survey locations in the Caprock Escarpment southeast of Tucumcari. A new location for Rebecca and me, it was quite verdant from all the earlier rains and showed us some good butterflies. Most impressive to me was the Goatweed Leafwing, a species I’d only seen in New Mexico twice…near Silver City in 2012 and a very worn individual last year near Las Cruces.
Goatweed Leafwing (Anaea andria)
As soon as we arrived, Sajan also spotted a very fresh Question Mark,
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)
and soon after we’d see several Southern Dogface
Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia)
and even a Dotted Roadside-Skipper (my first for the year).
Dotted Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes eos)
In addition to the butterflies, it also was fun to see a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on the drive in,
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
and several American Avocet at very close range on the drive out.
American Avocet
One last trip for this post. By Sunday, Kim was back in town and Jeff still had a couple days here. Rebecca had everybody over for dinner that night, and the next day we met up for a trip to the Jemez, stopping to check on the dogbane at two places near Battleship Rock, and then Seven Springs Fish Hatchery and Calaveras Campground. One of our target species was the Sylvan Hairstreak, which we’d seen on the dogbane there the last two years, and once again were rewarded with good sightings.
Sylvan Hairstreak (Satyrium sylvinus)
New for us at that location (and spotted by Sajan) was an Arachne Checkerspot
Arachne Checkerspot (Poladryas arachne)
and several Nais Metalmark.
Nais Metalmark (Apodemia nais)
I was quite happy with a shot of a White-lined Sphinx Moth, one I’m always trying to get in focus with the wings frozen in flight.
White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata)
Jeff spent some time searching the other side of the road where we’d see (but not photograph) Common Wood-Nymph and a few fritillaries on a small patch of bee balm. I think this is a Great Spangled Fritillary on the bee balm.
Great Spangled Fritillary (Argynnis cybele)
Conditions at our second stop, Seven Springs Fish Hatchery, weren’t as good for butterflies as on earlier visits and we soon moved on to the Calaveras Campground. Mostly interested in having lunch in the shade, Sajan and Jeff were off at first seeing a few fritillaries and then noticing a few other species, such as Purplish Copper and Silvery Checkerspots.
Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis)
Most of the fritillaries were Southwestern Fritillary, of which I ended up with decent photos of both the ventral view
Southwestern Fritillary (Argynnis nausicaa)
and dorsal view.
Southwestern Fritillary (Argynnis nausicaa)
Just as Jeff was preparing to leave for his early flight home the next day, he called out to us that he was looking at a Coral Hairstreak. I’m pretty sure I’d first heard of Calaveras Campground from a report of that species from several years ago (maybe on iNaturalist?) and had been hoping to see one on every visit since. So that got me and everybody else running over to take a look, and taking another look around the area we’d spot several more individuals. I had seen them a couple of times in the past (Wyoming in 2013, Kansas in 2022), but it was certainly my highlight of the day seeing one in New Mexico.
Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus)
Pretty long post this time, but it’s been a crazy good three weeks for some fun trips and good butterflies. The next few weeks will surely turn up even more goodies, and it will be fun chasing them down.
Natural Moments 