Early Bird Visitors

We have a few interesting early birds visiting our home and other locations here in New Mexico.

I walked out of my front door one day and spotted this female Ladder-backed woodpecker in the tree in front of the house.  

This is the home she was checking out.  I think it was last seasons nesting site. The window in the background is the location of my in-home office, and while working at my desk one day, I spotted the male.  I grabbed my camera and dashed out the door.  Alas, before I could get him in focus he was gone.  

I have not seen either of them again.  They are very shy.  I think when the tree gets leafed out they will return and build their nest.

Not nearly as shy is this pair of doves that are nesting here.  This is the female on her nest.

Here is a close-up view of her.  This is probably the same pair that fledged their young from this nest last summer when we had first moved in.  I understand they mate for life.

The male dove stays near-by and keeps watch on his lady.  A male dove wakes me up each morning by perching on the chimney of our fireplace and cooing as loud as he can.  Wake up time is 7:15 am.  Since it is a mating call, I do not know if it is the same dove.

Sparrows visit our neighborhood also.  They are welcome.

These two pictures are of what I believe is a House Finch.  Among other things, photographing this shy little bird tells me I need to get a telephoto-lens.

This most likely the female the male finch was courting.  We had moved our "home" back to Percha Dam State Park.  This pair would sing in the tree by our trailer.  As soon as I grabbed my camera, they flew to the far side of the tree.  These photos were lucky shots.

In the early spring, the early bird gets the worm.  Yes, it is a Robin.
Sorry she was in the shadows.

The spillway at Percha barely has a trickle of water passing through.  Most of the water is held upstream behind the Caballo and Elephant Butte Dams until irrigating begins.

Here is what the dam looks like without the water flowing over it.

Here is the same view taken last summer during our first stay at Percha Dam State Park.

La Llorona Park

One of our favorite forms of exercise here in New Mexico is bicycle riding. The best bicycling in Las Cruces is along the Rio Grande.  For us the ride begins at La Llorona Park next to the bridge on Picacho.

This is the bridge that crosses the Rio Grande from the east side, or Las Cruces side.

The sign that greets you as you turn into La Llorona park is more proof that this is the Rio Grande.

This is the parking area where we load and unload our bikes.  You can see ours in our pickup truck.  Notice the lack of Rio (or water) in the background beyond the truck.  We had a visit with one of Margaret's sister who wanted to see the Rio Grande.  She was amazed at the lack of water.  The water is held behind the Elephant Butte and Caballo Dams for irrigation purposes.  When the farmers begin irrigating, there will be water in the Rio.

Here is the view of the bridge from the parking area.  There is a path for foot traffic and bicycles to go "upstream" from the parking area.

Looking south you see the bike and walking path.  It is marked off with marker posts every quarter of a mile.  We are frequently greeted by friendly fellow bicyclers and walkers.

There is water in the Rio Grande bed.  This water comes from the sewage treatment plant in the town of Mesilla located to the east of this location. Notice the Organ Mountains in the distance.

The bridge on the bike path crosses over the drainage ditch.  You can see how the water enters the dry river bed.  From this point on it could be called Rio Pequeno (Small River), or Riachuelo (Creek or Stream).

The stream and bike path cross under Interstate 10 which goes all the way across the country from San Diego, California to Florida.

Several species of ducks can be found along the river basin.  These are mostly mallards.  We have seen crows, hawks, Pyrrhuloxia (a cardinal species), and of course roadrunners.

As we approached from the north another couple were walking towards us from the south.  They had two honey colored standard poodles on leashes. This roadrunner was caught in between in an area where there was little ground cover.  He took refuge in the tree.  He did not fly up into the tree, but jumped up into the tree.

I wondered if they can even fly so I checked the internet.  Here is what wikipedia reports: 
Roadrunners and other members of the cuckoo family have zygodactyl feet. The roadrunner can run at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) and generally prefer sprinting to flying, though it will fly to escape predators. During flight, the short, rounded wings reveal a white crescent in the primary feathers.

I captured several photos of this roadrunner as he ran across the path.  I selected this one for the blog because he stopped and posed for me.

Here is a view of the end of the trail.  It is 3.3 miles from La Llorona Park.

A long ride deserves a rest break along the way.  We take pillows to soften the seats on the park benches.

Riding alone one day it took me 38 minutes to make the round trip of 6.6 miles.

Looking towards the east you see the beautiful jagged peaks of the Organ Mountains.

Back at the start, looking towards the west, one can see this mountain.  I do not know if it has a name, but it reminds me of R Mountain near Rexburg, Idaho.  I think I found out the name of this mountain.  It is Pichacho Peak.  At least there is a Pichacho Peak Brewery near here.

Echo Amphitheater Abiquiu

The Echo Amphitheater is near Abiquiu, New Mexico.  Most people seem to love to hearing their voices shouted back where ever an echo can be created. This location accomplishes it very well, and is easily reached just off the highway.  There is ample parking.

We easily turned our truck and RV around, facing away from the theater.

This is a spectacular view from the parking area.  The surrounding area is equally spectacular.

The theater is surrounded by equally great views of rock formations that almost look like they could be carved into images of presidents.

Some of the rock formation begin to resemble those of the Moab, Utah area.

The path leading up to the amphitheater is well kept and relatively easy to traverse.  This lovely lady posed along the way to demonstrate how easy it was for her.

The photographer had to ham it up a little too.  

Here is a close up view of the base of the theater.

In places the pathway is relatively flat, and along side there are junipers, sage, and cactus.

I took several shots of this little four legged creature.

There were flowers blooming.  I will not attempt to identify this little buttercup like flower, but if someone recognizes it please do so in the comments area.

Of course, it is New Mexico with lots of cacti.