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Skies: Sunrise, Sunset

sunset

Skies at Sunrise and Sunset

Skies in New Mexico. Sunrise, sunset. Yes, yes, I know I talk endlessly about the beautiful skies of New Mexico. But they are beautiful, and the variety is never-ending. Sometimes I get to show that to you.

sunrise skies
Another sunrise that was more colorful toward the northeast than to the east itself.

The morning sunrise was another that was more colorful toward the northeast than east over the mountains. I have seen that a couple of times this month. I had rarely seen it (or perhaps, been aware of it) before this winter. It was calm on the ground, although there did seem to be some turbulence at cloud level.

Sunset was also calm on the ground. But, wow! was it ever an in-your-face kind of sunset. The clouds did not appear calm, at least to this observer. I cannot help calling this a “fire in the sky” sunset. The color like this lasted less than two minutes. I feel sorry for anyone here who missed it. You had to be looking for it or very lucky at just the right time.

sunset skies
“Fire in the Sky!”
An in-your-face sunset that lasted for less than two minutes. It was spectacular.
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Bird Count!

Woodhouser's Scrub-Jay

This Is the Weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Bird Count – This is the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count! I know that many of my friends participate each year, and have a great deal of fun doing so. For some it has developed into a passion for birding year around.

Fledgling scrub jay bird count
Fledgling Scrub Jay: Water Is Life! Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count 2015

You have seen this little fledgling scrub jay from the summer of 2014 before. It is now an adult, and comes by frequently for peanuts. I hope it will be included in my lists for the 2015 Great Backyard Bird Count.

If you have never participated before, the instructions and helpful hints are here. Participating by looking, watching, making lists, and contributing is fun, and you can really get to know the birds of your area.

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Albuquerque Flea Market

albuquerque flea market

The Very Colorful Albuquerque Flea Market, a Weekend Institution

The Albuquerque Flea Market, held every weekend at Expo NM (“the Fairgrounds”) is an institution here. It is very colorful, and is a wonderful spot for photographers as well as people watchers and shoppers. “You can get anything you want” here.

albuquerque flea market
Mainly New Mexico Marilyn t-shirts

As I was going through these images, one thought that kept going through my mind was, “maybe I can see how some people in the US do not know that New Mexico is one of the 50 states in the United States.” As a state, New Mexico is quite new (1912), but it has a very long history and prehistory.

The state is so beautiful and so colorful. On this autumn day you can see the trees beginning to turn, but you can also see the clear, turquoise-blue skies. You can also see that this is a pretty unique flea market, definitely New Mexico in flavor and color.

I hope you enjoy these images of one of Albuquerque’s weekend institutions.

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Fledgling Scrub Jay

fledgling scrub jay

Fledgling Scrub Jay Enjoying Peanuts

This fledgling scrub jay was photographed in the summer of 2014. It is now grown, and comes with its family group to eat peanuts when I put them out. The scrub jays also eat sunflower seeds and some other forms of bird food I put out. But, peanuts are a favorite, and are from the fledgling stage!

fledgling scrub jay
Fledgling Scrub Jay, Enjoying Peanuts

Scrub jays are a very common bird in Albuquerque and the Desert Southwest. These birds are not shy! If I let their feeders run out of their preferred food, they will shriek at me as soon as they see me in the yard. That is not because they are afraid; they do not fly off. I have one peanut feeder on the patio table, and they will come within a foot of me to feed there once spring arrives and I am out more frequently.

Fledglings like this one will not appear until summer, but adults are around now. The streak of beautiful days we have been having in Albuquerque reminds me of days like this one was, and makes me anxious for their return.

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Sunrise by 8 Minutes

New Mexico sunrise

Sunrise, Images 8 Minutes Apart

Sunrise is a beautiful phenomenon in New Mexico (as I have said more than once 🙂 ), but the colorful part is not long-lived. If one is not up and looking for it, the color could easily be missed. This morning’s was actually colorful for longer than most, although the peak of the color did not last long. The first image is from 6:43 am. The second image is from 6:51 am. Although the last image is at the peak of color, the color was gone very shortly afterwards.

New Mexico sunrise
06:43 am
New Mexico sunrise
06:51 am

When I first looked out, the sky was quite dark, but a few of the clouds on the horizon were beginning to show a trace of red. That is always a hopeful sign for a colorful beginning to the morning, and I brought my camera into the kitchen, and drank a cup of coffee while I waited and watched to see what transpired (these colors do not always happen 🙂 ). Finally I thought I should give it try. These images eight minutes apart show intense color in parts of the sky that lasted longer than I had expected.

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Spot the Hawk

Cooper's hawk

The Hawk of Albuquerque’s “Urban Forests”

Hawk, hanging out in the pine tree outside my kitchen window – can you spot it?
(This could make a jig saw puzzle. 😉 )

Cooper's hawk
Cooper’s Hawk, hanging out in the pine tree outside my kitchen window, waiting for dinner to arrive.

As I have said here before, the density of the Cooper’s hawk in the “urban forests” of Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights is thought to be as high as in any of this hawk’s “natural environments.” It has adapted well to life with humans. After all, we put out birdseed and other food for the little birds, and the hawks seem to appreciate our efforts and to thrive.

This is a large pine tree in my back yard, and I know that white-winged doves and scrub jays have had nests in that tree over the years. I always look forward to the fledgling jays (later in the year), and I am not overjoyed that the hawk is now using this as a hiding spot to wait for prey.

I was washing dishes when I caught sight of the hawk napping in the tree. It did not seem to mind being photographed as long as I was in the kitchen, but it flew when I went out.

Given the frequency with which I am seeing hawks in my yard this year, I expect other photographic opportunities for them. I’m not so sure about little fledglings of other birds later on, though…

This hawk is more mature than the one photographed in August and whose images I posted a few days ago. That was a juvenile Cooper’s. I do not know that this is the same hawk, just more mature and with plumage reflecting that. As many hawks as are known to be in this area, it could be a different hawk, of course. But, I want to think it is the same hawk that has been hanging around. 🙂

Although it is a bird of prey, the Cooper’s hawk is a beautiful bird of which I have become quite fond.

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Sunrise Through the Trees

sunrise

Sunrise through the Trees

Sunrise here in New Mexico holds the potential to always surprise. Today was no exception. The sunrise views usually seen from my home show the Sandias in the background, and a colorful sky. There was some of that this morning. But what made today a bit unusual was the colorful show to the North.

sunrise
Sunrise through the trees, very colorful, but unusual because this is facing North rather than East.

The skies of New Mexico, “Land of Enchantment,” never disappoint, whether they are the cloudless turquoise skies of much of the year, or the brilliant colors of many of our sunrises and sunsets, or the impressive storm clouds of our monsoon season.

I never cease to be amazed, however, at how different our sky can be, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, season by season. I cannot remember seeing such a brilliantly colored sunrise to the North before.

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The Observer, The Observed

through her eyes

The Observer, The Observed with “Spontaneous Poem from a Treetop Crow” by Jim Stallings

This image, once created, seemed ideal as a new header for this blog, with its subtitle, “A Southwest Point of View.” Jim had already written this poem (a gift of encouragement to my family recently), and I asked if I could post it here.

observer

Spontaneous Poem from a Treetop Crow

In the lofty life of a wise old crow
Swaying in the topmost backyard branches
Like a magical clock counting down mortality’s coil,
May it not be in some secret way
We the awed observers
Have all along been honored by a wiser watcher?

– Jim Stallings

To read more of Jim’s work, visit Jim Stallings: Books, at Amazon.com.

Thank you for letting my readers enjoy your poem here, Jim.

(The full image from which this header was created may be seen here:
http://swdesertgardening.com/2015/02/observer-observed/ )

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Cooper’s Hawk Visits Again

Cooper's hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper's hawk
Cooper’s Hawk

The Cooper’s Hawk that put on quite a display in August of 2014 and that drops by periodically was here again yesterday afternoon, looking for a meal. It was putting on a different show this time, flying all around a pyracantha bush in which a small bird was hiding. The hawk did not like diving into that pyracantha bush, and made multiple attempts, After trying, it would land back on the fence or on a tree branch, and then fly around and try to enter the bush again.

After many attempts, it finally just dived head long into the pyrancantha bush, which flushed out the little bird that had been seeking refuge there. As soon as the little bird flew out (it was probably either a sparrow, a junco, or a finch; I did not get a good look), the hawk caught it, and did exactly what these hawks are known to to. It squeezed the prey in its talons until the little bird became motionless. The hawk then flew off into the trees to enjoy its meal.

Cooper's hawk with prey
Cooper’s Hawk with Prey in Its Talons

I did not have my camera handy at the kitchen window yesterday, so I simply watched the entire show from there. These images are from August, but this second shows clearly the typical way these hawks are known for treating their prey.

I live in a part of Albuquerque now known for its high concentration of Cooper’s hawks. From the Albuquerque Journal last year:

Cooper’s hawks are primarily woodland birds, and we have built an expansive urban forest across the Northeast Heights. The urban neighborhoods on the east side of the river are older, and therefore their trees are more mature, making them a better “forest” for the birds, Madden suggested.

This is a beautiful bird. I have come to accept that every now and then it will find a meal in my yard. Just so it doesn’t happen too often…

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Visit Abo

Abo
Abo, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

Abo is one of several old Spanish Mission ruins located in Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, New Mexico. I had been to Quarai several times, but I had not been to Abo until October of 2014.

Abo
Abo, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, New Mexico.

October is a wonderful time in New Mexico for being out and exploring and seeing new places. The light was interesting all day long and at various locations. In the morning it was bright, and there were beautiful white clouds in the sky. Later in the afternoon, the clouds became darker and we did get a very small amount of rain.

Here at Abo, although the sky appears bright, there were heavy clouds that cast dark shadows over the ruin and location, giving it at times a rather spooky feeling of “old ghosts” that must be hanging around.

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is a place I want to revisit in the spring. In particular, I would like to photograph Abo again at a different time of day. For those of you who live in New Mexico, the entire Monument is definitely worth a day trip. For those of you visiting New Mexico at some point, a side trip to this monument would be a nice addition to your trip.

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