We met some birds today. Venka, one of our camp hosts, knocked on the door the morning to tell us there would be a bird program at the Visitor Center at 10:00 a.m. We went there, expecting to see a few rescue birds. As it turned out, we saw much more.
First we were told that there would be a bird program in the parking lot and that afterwards there would be a boat trip to a remote cove. Here are the birds we met: a falcon, a red tailed hawk, and a burrowing owl.
We learned that the burrowing owl is in trouble in New Mexico and elsewhere because of a special kind of loss of habitat. Burrowing owls have weak feet and depend almost entirely on prairie dogs to dig the burrows that they need to live in. Prairie dogs are being eradicated, and the result is plummeting burrowing owl populations.
During the talk, the wind really blew up, so the leaders offered a choice between the boat ride (which promised to be bumpy, wet, and cold) or a hike along the Rio Chama. We went with the hike. Our leader was a USACE ranger named Austin, but we also had a couple of birders, Willie and Ann, who offered us the use of bird books and binoculars.
As usual, the experienced birders spotted lots more birds than I was able to see. Fortunately, Austin brought along a great spotting scope, which really helped. We saw a large eagle nest on the rocky cliff face that appeared to be currently in use by some falcons. We saw hundreds of violet green swallows and learned to identify them. We saw some Bufflehead ducks on the river, and some sea gulls flying overhead. The most amazing sight was a Great Horned Owl nesting on a ledge on a cliff face, with a fluffy light colored chick standing in front. It was really only visible in the scope, and we wondered how Austin had ever seen them in the first place.
In the afternoon we braved the wind and hiked part of one of the trails. The weather hasn't been favorable for photography, but we did get one shot of the Cerro Perdenal with part of Lake Abiquiu in the foreground.
I have been very puzzled and unhappy that my iPhone says it has "No Service" when Ken's Galaxy and the Jetpack both have service.
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