birds

 

There certainly is a lot if migrations going on right now. Flocks of cranes fly overhead in the evening and ravens fly during the day. Essentially the different birds are all doing the same things; migrating south and looking for safe roosting sites in between. The heavy drought and high temperatures right now seem to be making the crane flocks smaller, and the raven flocks bigger. There a few ducks and no more Canada geese around.

We nearly stepped on a snake today, luckily it was already dead, run over by vehicle. These gopher snakes are absolutely harmless, and fun to see, because of their big size. They are rarely aggressive and never move fast or act unpredictably. Roadkill and predation by domestic pets (or homeowners) kill a truly shocking amount of wildlife and is usually completely unnoticed, or explained away by the average person. Corrales has a lot of loose pets, however the small cats are more at risk from bobcats and coyotes, especially if they don't get returned home quickly.

I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out these screeching calls that resemble a cooper's hawk. Turns out, it is coming from these northern flickers (I think) they have red wings and tails and I wonder if they are mimicking raptors like the red tailed hawk. They are very conspicuous right now that the hummingbirds have left.

this simple picture is of a stick of cottonwood sticking out of the mud. This is one of the many ways this impressive tree species propagates on newly exposed mud from receding floods. This is a perfect environment for new trees to colonize. a pity this one is benefiting from a drought lowering the water table in the clear ditch...

the scuzzy ditch is dry, but not as dry as it seems to be. Cold air collects in the lower ground and is more moist, especially among the tall reeds. this sections of the ditch had many small plans like dandelions among the stems, which thrive in a moist environment, like a grassy front lawn.