The final days of January kicked us back into wintery vistas around Las Vegas, a wet 3" fell over the course of 2 days, leaving roads muddy, trees laden, and streams jamming. I went for my usual long walk along the Gallinas River, following the Riverwalk park to the Roundhouse bosquette, then across the train tracks to the woodlands near I-25, it's about a 5 mile loop and with abundant woodland habitat, plenty of water, and interspersed pastures to give plenty of 'edge' it's always great for a variety of resident, wintering, and migrant birds, and even a pretty Paint or two.
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| A Paint horse on the wrong side of the tracks. |
Marsh wrens have been one of those species I've really tried to become attuned in the past 6 months or so, they're cryptically colored, wonderfully small, and are nearly always found in willow-thickets and cat-tail marsh habitat. Las Vegas is apparently at the edge of their wintering grounds, adding to my level of interest in detecting any that are around. While we had good MARW (Marsh Wren) numbers in the late fall, and were able to add one during the Las Vegas CBC back in December 2014 (12/20/2014, NMLV), I had not observed one in the area since. So, while watching and (attempting) to capture a photograph of a very active Ruby-crowned Kinglet along the River's course, it was a pleasant, but not entirely surprising moment when I spied a very LBB (little brown bird) moving through the willows, inches above the water's surface. It turned out to be my first county Marsh Wren of the year.
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| Marsh Wren, one of our uncommon visitors through the year. Gallinas River, Las Vegas, NM 1/31/2015 |
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| Marsh Wren. Gallinas River, Las Vegas, NM 1/31/2015 |
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| Brown Creeper, Gallinas River, Las Vegas, NM, 1/31/2015 |
A 'photographic nemesis' of mine, the Brown Creeper, is a common-enough bird this time of year, but they just do not like cameras! Their calls are distinctive and frequently given, they often forage low against elm and cottonwood trees, however they rarely stop moving for more than a few seconds, dodge to the opposing side of trees, and just overall make photographing them a challenge. These are perhaps the best shots I've taken of a Creeper, but I'm still not satisfied, the quest continues!
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| Brown Creepers use their tails to prop themselves vertically against tree trunks while foraging, like miniature woodpeckers. In contrast to woodpeckers which use their bills as chisels to excavate insects, Creepers have long, decurved and delicate bills meant for probing into cracks and crevices. Gallinas River, Las Vegas, NM, 1/31/2015 |
Winter is a great time for mixed flocks of birds, where species of mostly in the sparrows, chickadees, nuthatches and woodpecker families tend to stick near eachother in loose, but connected flocks while foraging in their own specific ways. Because the methods of foraging and preferred food items are different enough, there is little competition between species within a mixed flock, and all members receive the added bonus of 'strength in numbers'. A sharp-shinned hawk seen by one Junco, can alert the nearby chickadee, who raises a racket and alerts the flicker on the ground digging at an anthill, and so on. Because these mixed flocks tend to concentrate many of the birds in a given area, birding these groups becomes almost like 'oasis birding', where one could walk for long periods without even the scent of a bird, then suddenly you come across 5 or 10 species, with maybe 20 individual birds; the oasis. Most of the mixed flocks today were composed of the regulars; Mountain Chickadees, Black-capped Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos (Pink-sided), White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a male/female pair of Downy Woodpeckers close by.
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| Mountain Chickadee and some-kind of pink something or other food item. Gallinas River, Las Vegas, NM 1/31/2015 |
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| Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided), Gallinas River, Las Vegas, NM 1/31/2015 |
Winter reveals many things once leaves drop and leave fractal skeletons exposed. Old nests become easier to find, woodpecker cavities suddenly appear out of no-where, and even finding birds becomes less of a challenge. I came across a nice cavity in a broken off 'staub', a dead tree with the top broken off. It will surely be used in 3 or 4 months as a nesting cavity of a variety of birds, maybe a Hairy Woodpecker (like the possible creator), maybe an Ash-throated Flycatcher, or perhaps by a European Starling family, who often unfortunately out-compete native birds for nesting cavities.
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| Waiting to be occupied. |
At the far end of my walk, near the interstate, I was hoping to catch up with a flock of Evening Grosbeaks that had been hanging out in the area, and while I could not locate the grosbeaks, I did find a rarity in Las Vegas during winter; the big, bold White-throated Sparrow. These birds move through during spring and fall migration, but their usual wintering range is farther south towards Albuquerque and warming climes. This was the first I had seen in the Vegas area in upwards of two years. It was associating with a large flock of White-crowned Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos of several races (Pink-sided, Oregon, and Gray-headed).
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| White-throated Sparrow, Gallinas River, Las Vegas, NM 1/31/2015 |
After a little more time at the south end of town, and a few raptor additions to the day (
Red-tailed Hawk and
Northern Harrier (male)), I started heading home. Those that know me are aware of my general laissez-faire attitude towards fences that I feel are inappropriate. That being said, as I straddle-crossed a barbed-wire fence for the 2,482nd time in my life, I managed to shred my thumb pretty good during the dismount. Packing ice on the wound to reduce the bleeding, I cursed myself for not being more careful as I started down the train tracks home. Adding insult to injury, a nicely perched
Sharp-shinned Hawk that would've made a great photograph avoided ending up in this blogpost, as I was reluctant to work my camera with a bloody digit. Beware the unforeseen dangers of birding! *The thumb is healing nicely.
Link to the checklist mentioned in this post
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