The moment I arrived at my friends home in Silver City I could hear lots of different songs in the cool mountain air. My friends live at about the six thousand foot elevation and I arrived in winter. You never know what's going to show up. My friends Hal and Ann have always enjoyed feeding the wild birds and put out a variety of feeds outside their kitchen window in order to enjoy them.
The second day I was here on the first of January we got hit with a snow storm and were forced to stay indoors. I sat by the window with my camera, cup of tea and was in heaven just watching all the wild birds coming in to eat. One of the first birds to come in was this very rare Bridled Tit. There was a group of three but I just couldn't get all three in the same picture.
Another that caught my eye immediately is this Spotted Towhee. His colors were so beautiful and he reminded me of Shama Thrushes.
The Cassins finch was by itself in the middle of a group of Linnets. Ann was in the kitchen with me and I said to her "that one is different, it has a small crest!" We looked it up in the book and sure enough, it wasn't a male linnet but rather a Cassins finch which a couple of good birding friends confirmed
I was so excited the first time I saw the male Laddered Woodpecker come in to feed but there was no hen to be seen. It wasn't until the third of January that I saw her. I was able to capture pictures of each individually but I couldn't believe when I was able to get this shot of both in the same frame. Amazingly beautiful in the morning sunlight.
Another highlight was capturing this female Hairy Woodpecker. To this day of January eight I still haven't seen a male. Now I'm on a mission to find him!
Another bird that is beautiful in this part of the country is the Mexican Jay. They come in a group of about ten birds and just push their way in. Being a large bird no one gives them a hard time and just move out of their way.
The Scrub Jay is a bit different than the Mexican with its cute light colored eyebrows.
I had not been able to get out and do my normal walking because of the heavy snowfall we had and then the sheets of ice on the road. Finally yesterday I had to go out and do some walking. I was told by a friend that a real birder is always ready so I brought my camera along. Ann and I set out for a short walk because it was cold and windy. Boy was I glad I brought the camera along because I got shots of two beautiful birds I hadn't seen yet. The first was this male American Kestrel sitting on one of the power lines across the road at one of the neighbors properties. He was staring down at a pile of horse manure.
The second bird I spotted was a group of Blue Birds. This little male was sitting on the pillar just singing away.
For now I'll leave you with a couple of silhouettes that I got the other day. I like them because they remind me of the peace I'm finding in this journey. Also because it's 4:43 in the morning, my iPads power is down to 22% and I need another short nap!
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