Mountain Bluebird

The Mountain Bluebird is most likely to be confused with other bluebirds. Male Mountain Bluebirds lack any reddish coloration on their underparts unlike Eastern and Western Bluebirds. Females are more difficult to separate.
In the winter they sometimes travel in flocks and feed on berries. I happened to catch this guy flying away with a prized Juniper berry. The picture was taken at Bosque del Apache visitor center.

Greater Roadrunner

The Greater Roadrunner is a signature bird of the desert Southwest. During the 20th century, its range expanded all the way to southern Missouri and western Louisiana. A ground-dwelling cuckoo, it feeds on snakes, scorpions, and any other small animal it can catch and subdue.
The Greater Roadrunner can reach running speeds of 30 km/hr (18.6 mi/hr). It holds its head and tail flat and parallel to the ground when running at its top speed.
To warm up after a cold desert night, a roadrunner will turn its back to the sun, fluff its back feathers, and expose skin along its back. This skin is black in order to absorb more solar energy.
Photographers new to the southwest are always asking where Roadrunners can be found. Luckily I found one and not surprisingly it was crossing the road.

Sandhill Crane Takeoff

At night Sandhill Cranes stay in shallow ponds. In the early morning they depart and head for the corn fields to feed. As they prepare for flight they start by pointing their heads in the direction of the wind. Shown here is flight preparation, takeoff, and flight.

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhills are one of two crane species found in North America. The other is the whooping crane, an endangered species, which has been recently reintroduced to Wisconsin. Unlike its' white whooping crane cousin, the sandhill crane is a tall gray bird. It has a huge wingspan of 6-7 feet! While the birds are tall, they only weigh between 8 and 11 pounds. Adults have yellow eyes, black bills, legs and feet, with a bright red patch on the crest of their head. Males and females look nearly alike. In the spring, they actually "paint" their feathers with mud to camouflage themselves in brown grasses. These birds also date back several million years and are highly revered in Asia.
Over 15000 Sandhills call Bosque del Apache their winter home.

Snow Geese

We are presently in southern New Mexico at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. This is the winter home of tens of thousands of birds. Pictured here are Snow Geese. One picture shows a very large group taken during one of their "blast offs". The noise and sight of thousands of birds lifting off at once is an incredible sight.