Dogofthedesert
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dogofthedesert.bsky.social
Dogofthedesert
@dogofthedesert.bsky.social
220 followers 17 following 260 posts
Retired archaeologist and museum curator who loves the planet he lives on, and worries about what is happening to it.
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dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) at Isleta Lakes on November 10, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird with an S-shaped neck, seen in profile against rippling water. The body and visible side of the neck are gray. Long plumes dangle from the lower neck. The head is black and white, with a yellow eye. The beak is long and pointed.
November 10, 2025 at 10:09 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
An osprey (Pandion haliaetus) resting in a cottonwood tree at Isleta Lakes, maintained by Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico. Photo taken on November 10, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A raptor stands tall on a branch, with yellow leaves and blue sky behind. The raptor's wings are dark brown (almost black), with a streak of the same color extending through the yellow eye. The breast is white with a few brown speckles. The belly is white.
November 10, 2025 at 9:36 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A juvenile band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) gazing down at me from a safe height. Photo taken at Capulin Spring, in the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, on November 7, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A gray bird that looks very much like a city pigeon! The beak is yellow, with a dark tip. The feet are yellow, with dark nails. There's a bit of red to the dark eye. The background consists of conifer branches.
November 9, 2025 at 10:11 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
This one is in case you're in a warm and fuzzy deficit. A chipmunk (Tamias or Neotamias sp.) at the Capulin Spring canoa, in the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, on November 7, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #chipmunk
The head and body of a chipmunk, with the tail out of the picture. The short fur includes shite stripes on the cheeks and back. The rest of the fur varies between brown and gray.
November 9, 2025 at 4:06 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) against a background of changing oak leaves. Photo taken at Capulin Spring in the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico on November 7, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A head-and-shoulders photo portrait, with the head in profile. The black head begins with a sharp beak and ends with a crest like a feather bonnet. The plumage forms a white eyebrow over the dark brown eye. The black of the head transitions into the bright blue of the body.
November 9, 2025 at 1:17 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A Townsend's solitaire (Myadestes townsendi), showing two signature traits: a prominent white eye ring and bit of buff color on its wing. Photo taken at Capulin Spring in the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico, on November 7, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A gray bird perches on a bare branch, with an upright posture. The wings are a darker gray, and include a barely shown light brown wing patch. There's a prominent white eye ring around the black eye.
November 9, 2025 at 12:49 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
Before this red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) dropped into the Capulin Spring canoa for a drink, it glanced over its shoulder to check on the guy with the camera. Photo taken in the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico on November 7, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird with a rust-colored breast and belly, a blue-gray back, and a head with black and white stripes.
November 8, 2025 at 12:46 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) that just popped out of the canoa (log trough) at Capulin Spring. Photo taken in the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico on November 7, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird perched on (and partly concealed by) the wall of a hollowed-log watering trough. Its belly, breast, neck, and face are white. A black streak extends back from the beak and up over the head to join a black back. The visible eye and the beak are also black.
November 7, 2025 at 11:35 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
In the late afternoon, a greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) forages at the water's edge. Photo taken in Albuquerque's North Valley on November 6, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A shorebird treads carefully in the mud at the water's edge, and is reflected upside-down in the water. The bird's legs are bright yellow. Its beak is long and pointed. Its head and neck plumage has streaks of brown and white. Its back is brown with white spots. Its belly is white.
November 7, 2025 at 1:36 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A reminder that even the most graceful among us can be a klutz now and then. This pygmy nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) was headed down a tree trunk when it lost its grip and hit its head on a branch. Loss of dignity aside, no harm done. Photo taken on September 14, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A gray and white bird working its way down a tree trunk has slipped, fallen forward, and struck its head (gently) on a branch. it's extending its wings as part of its recovery.
November 3, 2025 at 11:50 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
One of the great things about Albuquerque is the ability to take a walk like this one on a beautiful fall morning, without leaving town. Photo taken on November 3, 2025.
A "two-track" dirt road curves away from the camera. In the foreground the ground is crisscrossed with shadows from overhanging cottonwood trees. Patches of cloudless blue sky appear between the branches. More cottonwood trees are present beyond the road. The leaves on the cottonwoods are turning from green to gold.
November 3, 2025 at 10:55 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A good time of the year to wander around in Albuquerque's botanic garden. Photo taken on November 2, 2025.
A tiny stream, artificial but lovely, wanders through a channel rimmed by gray boulders and lush green vegetation. Outside the stream channel, trees and bushes are putting on their fall colors.
November 3, 2025 at 1:17 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
An immature great blue heron (Ardea herodias) caught in the first sunlight to reach Tingley Beach this morning. Photo taken on October 28, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds #heron
A large bird, on long legs, at the water's edge. The plumage is mostly gray, but tinged slightly red by the rising sun. The cap is dark gray and the eye is yellow. The beak is long and sharp. One leg ends in the water; the other is slightly lifted, revealing the bird's toes. The background is the pond's surface, including fine ripples.
October 28, 2025 at 9:18 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) puts on the brakes as it prepares to land. Photo taken at Isleta Lakes on October 23, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
This heron has its legs outstretched and positioned forward of its body, in the final split-second before it lands. It has just flapped its outstretched wings forward to counter its forward momentum. The tail is fanned out, to help slow the bird's speed to almost nothing.
October 23, 2025 at 9:35 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A male wood duck (Aix sponsa) in the Rio Grande Bosque, Albuquerque on October 22, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A boldly patterned duck! The head is dominated by iridescent green, and by a bright red eye. The beak is red and white, with a black tip. The breast is brown with tiny white spots. The flanks are finely patterned tan. There are areas of black and white plumage as well. The duck is gliding along in a pond whose surface is covered with tiny ripples.
October 22, 2025 at 10:34 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
Two neotropic cormorants (Nannopterum brasilianum) at Tingley Beach, Albuquerque on the morning of October 22, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
Two large, ungainly-looking, dark brown birds perched on the end of a mostly submerged log. They're framed by ripples in the water. Their beaks are mostly yellow and they have aqua eyes.
October 22, 2025 at 7:42 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A male great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) that I saw on October 13, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
An all-black bird with a large tail and a yellow eye. It's perched on a split-wood fence rail. The background is a blurred-out gray.
October 19, 2025 at 10:47 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
Since we New Mexicans are spoiled by so much sunshine, here's a reminder of what the the state's weather can look like. Looking down a county road north of Estancia on the foggy, cold, wet morning of October 14, 2025.
The dominant color in this photo is gray. A muddy county road recedes into the fog. The road is flanked on both sides by power lines, whose poles similarly march into the gloom.
October 19, 2025 at 10:20 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
In the North Valley this morning, a V of American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) passed low overhead, headed south. Photo taken in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 15, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
Two pelicans display their long wings. Those are white, with a bold black fringe. The rest of their plumage is white. The beaks are a dull yellow. The famous pouches are pulled in tight, so not that noticeable.
October 16, 2025 at 1:20 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
True to their name, rock wrens (Salpinctes obsoletus) love rocky places. Not a setting you'll find on the high plains between Estancia and McIntosh, N.M. Instead, this rock wren was hanging out at a large pile of discarded timbers. Photo taken on October 14, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A very gray bird! The back is a medium gray, with many speckles on the back. Each speckle is about half black, half white. The chin, throat, breast, and visible part of the belly are pale gray. The photo includes a red background, which is from a blurred-out steel storage bin painted that color.
October 15, 2025 at 12:38 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
An immature great blue heron (Ardea herodias) at Isleta Lakes, New Mexico on October 13, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
The image shows a heron's S-shaped neck and the head ending in a long, sharp beak. The neck is mostly gray-brown but has white, black, and tan mottling on the front. The bird's chin is white and its cap is gray. The eye is yellow. The beak is dark above, tan below.
October 13, 2025 at 8:21 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
American snouts (Libytheana carinenta) are my candidate for New Mexico's least beautiful butterfly. Their appearance improves when the wings are open. This one is nectaring on seepwillow (Baccharis sp.). Photo taken in the Rio Grande Bosque on October 9, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #butterfly
A butterfly hanging from a white flower (and nectaring from it) forms an approximate triangle. With the wings folded it's a mottled brown. A bit of the upperwing colors -- orange, black, and white -- is showing. The long palps make the butterfly look like it has a snout.
October 11, 2025 at 11:35 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
In the Sandia Mountains this morning, an artist begins her painting of the fall colors. Photo taken at the 9 Mile picnic area on October 10, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography
An old road curves away from the camera before bending out of sight. It's flanked by aspens whose leaves range from yellow to golden red. At the lower left corner, an artist in a blue parka works at her easel. The visible patch of sky is filled with clouds.
October 10, 2025 at 9:33 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
A Say's phoebe (Sayornis saya) watching for insects from a construction stake. Photo taken in the Rio Grande Bosque in Albuquerque on October 9, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird perches at the top of a construction stake marked with the number 16. The bird's head, neck, and breast are gray, as are the coverts for the visible wing. The belly is a pale rust. The folded tail is black.
October 10, 2025 at 12:20 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
As the year winds down, so does the life of this female variegated meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum). Her children will fly south for the winter. Photo taken in the Rio Grande Bosque at Belén, N.M. on October 8, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #dragonfly
A dragonfly rests on the tip of a dead branch. The blurry background shows the browns and yellows of fall foliage. The wingtips are ragged. The dragonfly's body is mainly gray but with touches of rust, pink, and white.
October 8, 2025 at 10:32 PM