lakes

The nice thing about travelling out of Corrales is seeing some things that are familiar, like this great blue heron...

And some things that are not, like this creasote bush

Obviously this is a blackbird, but this species is not usually found in Corrales (Brewer's blackbird)

This blackbird sports a slight yellow stripe on its shoulder, meaning, of course, that this is a red shouldered blackbird that can be found in Corrales, but they seem to be a lot more shy than this guy. Birds are nuts..

This is a creasote moth. Not a lot is known about this species that I've been able to find out.

In South Central New Mexico, there are many more insects around due to higher average temperatures. This field cricket seems very shiny.

The insects are likely why there is finches hanging around the house. The female is on the left, the male is on the right. These are rose finches.

The elephant butte lake shore environment gives a very different ecosystem for animals to live in.

this killdeer checks along the edges for flotsam and jetsam. In Corrales, these guys are more likely to be seen in the summer scouting vernal pools for tadpole niblits.

We also see gulls like this, but more usuallyin Corrales they are just flying south to find a nice big lake like this one.

It's nice to see coots here as well, but no chicks as yet.

There are few animals other than birds out at the moment (some lizards), but in February most animals are still hiding out. These sliders were trying to soak up some quick sun before the winter returned.

Many birds use the lake as a quick rest stop as they navigate up and down the Rio Grande and the mountain chains associated with it. This flock consists of several species of gulls and ducks.

These tyrant flycatchers should start showing up in Corrales over the next month or so. As nesting season progresses, they will begin to push out almost all other birds because of their territorial pushiness, before they, in turn are displaced by the even pushier hummingbirds of summer.

But they are going to need a lot more insects to be around so right now they are down by the lake, hunting flies.