Totah Sam

NW New Mexico between Shiprock and Farmington. Caught these earlier tonight. Can anyone identify them? Merry Christmas!

such a beautiful bird. great shot. ❤️

1. Western Bluebird?

Handsome little fella

3. Blue-throated Mountain-gem (wow) 6. Broad-billed (wow again) I think I'm moving to SE AZ. 😛

Roadrunners being the state bird of New Mexico I've only seen one many years ago when I was a young whipper-snapper. Of course I wasn't into birds. I was into myself. Which is typical for a teenager. The whole world revolves around them. Anyway. I walked out into my front yard and saw one dart from under a car and dash towards the river. Never attempted to fly. Just ran it's little legs off. I think that's going to be life goal of mine to get one photographed. I tried to sneak up on it to get another look but it was gone. Not even a feather to mark its passing. I also remember large herds of antelope moving back and forth between Colorado (Ute Reservation) and New Mexico (Navajo reservation). We would spend Easter camping out under a mesa with an area where you could jump off the cliffs into deep sand. It was fun and terrifying at the same time. We would sit on the top of the mesa and watch the antelope graze and migrate north or south depending on the whim of the herd. We could watch them for hours. Then they built a powerplant right in the middle of their migration area and the herds are now gone. Makes me sad sometimes but I still have my birds. Addendum: Forgot to add that one of the very first birds I saw when I moved into this house (after my house of 40 years burned to the ground) was a Phainopepla. That was my sign that everything was going to be alright. double edit: oh god I'm so sorry. I'm an old fart and I messed this up. I'm so sorry.

Roadrunners being the state bird of New Mexico I've only seen one many years ago when I was a young whipper-snapper. Of course I wasn't into birds. I was into myself. Which is typical for a teenager. The whole world revolves around them. Anyway. I walked out into my front yard and saw one dart from under a car and dash towards the river. Never attempted to fly. Just ran it's little legs off. I think that's going to be life goal of mine to get one photographed. I tried to sneak up on it to get another look but it was gone. Not even a feather to mark its passing. I also remember large herds of antelope moving back and forth between Colorado (Ute Reservation) and New Mexico (Navajo reservation). We would spend Easter camping out under a mesa with an area where you could jump off the cliffs into deep sand. It was fun and terrifying at the same time. We would sit on the top of the mesa and watch the antelope graze and migrate north or south depending on the whim of the herd. We could watch them for hours. Then they built a powerplant right in the middle of their migration area and the herds are now gone. Makes me sad sometimes but I still have my birds. 😛

I have a pair that show up every year and camp out in my mulberry tree. Such a beautiful song. 🙂

I'm in NW New Mexico. I have a new bird to hunt. Didn't even know they were a possibility. ❤️

So lucky! They like to hide. I have yet to capture a photo of one. 😛

I love these little guys. See them all the time around my house. They are quite entertaining. They do all kinds of acrobatics in the branches of our juniper and piñon trees. I could watch them for hours (If they stuck around more than 30 seconds). 😛

A couple of years back I was on another birding website and I found a nesting pair of rufous hummingbirds on my property. I was excited about it and wanted to share. The feedback I got was crushing. I was called a liar and asked to leave. They raked me over the coals. I didn't have a camera at the time and I vowed that I would never be without one again. It was pretty bad. I wonder if those people read that article and thought about my nesting pair of beauties. I hope so. 😛 p.s. I'm in New Mexico

aww so cute. I love Mourning Doves. I have a pair nesting near my house this year. It's been so long since they've been on the property. ❤️

Sounds like a Thrush to me but I'm no expert. Swainson's maybe or a Townsend's Solitaire?

Such a beautiful bird. ❤️