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Thursday Birding in the Rio Grande Bosque [1]
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Date: 2022-07-28
Mississippi Kite
This morning I and a dozen or so friends had our semi-regular Thursday Birding trip along the Rio Grande Bosque south of Bernalillo, about 15 miles north of Albuquerque. The Thursday Birders are an informal group of birders affiliated with the Central New Mexico Audubon Society. We share and visit our favorite bird spots around and near Albuquerque. We usually meet around 7:30 and bird until about noon and often end the trip with a pot luck picnic (or a nearby pub).
Today we visited the Willow Creek open space area around the west bank of the Rio Grande. The cities and villages along the Rio have done a very good job of keeping the Bosque undeveloped and wild and it serves as a refuge for both native and migrating wildlife.
One of our first birds was a Bewick’s Wren. These little guys are residents in the area, but are very shy and stay inside the bushes; the best method is to listen for their call and then scan the bushes until you see the bird.
Bewick’s Wren
You have no idea how many photos I have of a bird with a stick in its eye!
Another handsome small bird is the Black Phoebe. These little fly catchers like to perch along water and fly out and catch insects in the air.
Black Phoebe
They are a year-round resident, and can be seen along the Rio and the adjacent irrigation ditches.
The Rio is also a favorite hangout for Snowy Egrets.
These showy birds wade in the shallows, hunting for minnows and other small critters along the shore.
A real treat today was a Mississippi Kite.
Mississippi Kite
These small raptors migrate up from South America to breed in the southern US. In the last few years the kites have starting to nest in the Bosque, and we look forward to seeing a regular breeding population here.
Mississippi Kite
We were wondering why we were not seeing so many smaller song birds, until we ran into a gang of Cooper’s Hawks.
Cooper’s Hawk
Coops are a common resident in the Albuquerque area, often nesting in the city and staking out parks as their territory and keeping down the population of pigeons and doves.
We caught up with 8 or so Coops, with several adults and at least 4 juveniles.
Cooper’s Hawks
These young guys were showing off their new flying skills by dogfighting in the cottonwood tree tops.
Another pair of youngsters were perching in a cottonwood right along the trail, just looking back us about 50 feet away.
Young Coops
Finally, one got tired of us and told us to get out.
Mad Coop
Good morning for birding, good friends and awesome birds. If you are in Albuquerque, look up the Thursday Birders and sign up. New friends are always welcome.
All pics with Canon 6D, Canon 100-400mm zoom.
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