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Right now the morning temperatures are perfect for dog walking. This is the #1 activity in our area right now, so the ditches are very busy.

The acequias are still dry, so lots of people and no waters means most animals out there are hiding during the day. This will change within the week.

The quail are being loud and proud right now. In this species, the males have a feather that hangs like a flag above their heads. Their distinctive plaintive cry is now heard over the sand dunes.

This coopers hawk is also entering the suburbs looking for those show off quail.

The ditches are festooned with weeds. Right now. The PNM bucket trucks were out today clearing the gates, so the water will be flowing soon.

The warm nights allows bigger critters to stir in the undergrowth, like this cricket. In the cities, the cockroaches are getting ready to rise uncontested in their sewer lairs...

This fearsome guy has fangs so short they cannot get through human skin. Completely harmless, for a something that looks like a nightmare

The moths are coming down the mountains, so they all look like rocks,leaves, and lichen. This one clearly is used to hanging by the front legs, and looks a lot like a cottonwood bud.

This one is vibrating the wings to allow the flight muscles to warm up. Unlike the the moths normally here, this one does not have the trailing edge soft fringes, which means the newly emerging bats should be able to see them easier on echolocation. The games have begun.

 

this moth has some awesome 3d camouflage effects on those wings. It looks like the visual focussed birds are more a risk than the sonic sensing bats for these guys. 

the great horned owls are the most visual of the owls. They specialize in eating skunk, but have adjusted well to human encroachment. The old trees are perfect nesting holes for these early nesting species.

The "horns" are not ears, but feathers that break up the silhouette of the broad head.

this male coopers hawk was being very vocal about the dogs walking off leash below him. They usually can hide well, but because they are so mobile and alert they have little to fear from predators

The acequias are being charged on Loma Largo. Thie water will change the who ecosystem over the next few weeks, the ramifications cascade down the ecosystems in so many unpredictable ways that are fascinating to study. As of right now, the lateral ditch is still dry.

 

the nutrients in the water come from many sources, but the algae is quick to take advantage of a niche. The plants grow fast in the broth and sunlight, as long as the silt from foraging mallards does not uproot them.

The vegetation is eaten by carp, who are now highly visible in the mornings. The red-turning-green water covering is Red Azolla, a tropical species used as "green manure" in Asia. Another plant species indicating high nitrate levels from run-off from farms and septic systems. The muskrats also seem to like eating this "duckweed"

the wood ducks are getting more brazen, I suspect this female is looking for a nesting site away from the busy waterways

The turkey pack has taken to prowling the scuzzy ditch, causing some traffic disturbances and flying feathers early in the mornings. They are not graceful fliers and do not mix well with dog walkers and bicyclists.

The raccoon prints are everywhere right now as the opportunistic mammals discover eggs, baby lizards and who knows what else in the muddy shallows.

Its hard to see, but look at the slide marks in the middle of the picture made by the plastron of a prehistoric looking snapping turtle, with footprints on either side of that trail. This guy is dubbed "Big Al" if you see him, please let him be. To get to this size, he has had to but up with a lot in life and is likely pretty grumpy.