Dogofthedesert
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Dogofthedesert
@dogofthedesert.bsky.social
490 followers 18 following 350 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 snow goose (Anser caerulescens) at the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex, central New Mexico on January 1, 2026.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A flying goose against an entirely blurry background. The plumage is all white except for the primaries. The beak and legs are a dull pink. The head is forward but the tail and legs are dropped, as the goose prepares to land.
January 3, 2026 at 9:24 PM
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A male Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) at Isleta Lakes on January 2, 2026.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird on a branch, with a pale blue background provided by the sky. The bird's visible cheek, cap, folded wing, and tail are bright blue. A large rust-colored patch begins below the beak and extends onto the breast, the flanks, and the "shoulder" area. The belly and undertail coverts are white. The beak is black, short, narrow, and sharp. The feet are black.
January 3, 2026 at 2:21 AM
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A very wet female common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), between dives for breakfast. Photo taken at Isleta Lakes, New Mexico on January 2, 2026.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
The foreground and background for this image are rippling water -- blue and gold in the foreground, gold and brown in the background. In the middle ground is our duck, seen in profile, with water trickling off her plumage. Her large beak is black with a yellow tip. Her head is brown with a bright yellow eye. Her visible body and wing plumage is streaky gray.
January 3, 2026 at 1:37 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
Abstract composition with Canada goose breast feather. Photo taken at Isleta Lakes, New Mexico on January 2, 2026.

#nature #naturephotography #feather
The "abstract" part of this image consists of irregular small ripples on a pond's surface. The dominant color is dull green but because of reflections, there are irregular ribbons of brown, white, and blue. In the middle left, a somewhat curled feather floats concave side down on the water, so that the feather is touching the water at its base and tip. To the left, the feather is white down; to the right the feather is broad, smooth, and light brown.
January 3, 2026 at 1:23 AM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
In eastern Asia, cranes are considered auspicious, so I'll start 2026 with an image of sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis). These ones were foraging in stubble at the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex in Socorro County, N.M. on New Year's Day.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
Only one of these sandhill cranes is in sharp focus, and entirely within the frame of the image. It's a large bird on tall dark legs. The beak is dark, long, narrow, and sharp. The upper half of the face is red (actually a bald spot). The eye is orange. The bird is holding its neck in a graceful S shape. The body features large gray feathers, some with rusty-looking spots. The droopy gray tail is often referred to as a bustle. In the background, at least eight more sandhill cranes are shown, but only partially, and blurry. The foreground is livened up by brown spear-like broken corn stalks.
January 2, 2026 at 2:36 AM
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I'd like to close out my 2025 photo series on a serene note. So here's a ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) gliding over the Rio Grande in Albuquerque on December 30, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A gull in the air with its wings and tail spread. The mottled brown background is provided by blurred-out cottonwoods with dead leaves still on them. The bird is mostly white. The wingtips are black with white spots. The head and neck are white with vague gray mottling. The eye and beak are pale yellow. The beak is narrow and is circled by a black ring just back from the sharp tip.
January 1, 2026 at 1:53 AM
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The other unusual gull this morning was a lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus). This species sometimes winters in North America, primarily along the Atlantic coast, but breeds no farther west than Iceland. Photo taken at the Rio Grande on December 30, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird in profile, standing in shallow muddy water. The head and neck are white, with the vague gray marks seen on nonbreeding birds. The eye is dull yellow, with a black pupil. The yellow beak looks rather robust for a gull, and has a bright red spot (gony). The breast and belly are white. The visible folded wing is dark gray, with black and white wing tips. The visible portions of the legs are dull yellow.
December 31, 2025 at 3:09 AM
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Joining the hundreds of ring-billed gulls on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque this morning was one short-billed gull (Larus brachyrhynchus) in nonbreeding adult plumage. This species ordinarily winters along the Pacific coast between Alaska and San Diego.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A gull strides along the edge of a sandbar, with rippling water in the foreground. The gull is seen in profile. The gull's head and neck are white with vague gray patches. The beak is yellow. The breast and belly are white. The feet are dull yellow. The visible wing is gray, with white-spotted black wingtips. A blurry ring-billed gull is partly visible in the upper right corner of the image. The background is mostly flat sand, but with many examples of bird poop. That last looks like goose poop to me, so perhaps Canada geese had spent the night on the sandbar.
December 31, 2025 at 2:49 AM
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So you're chilling with your buds on a sandbar, but then a northern harrier shows up. Time to get airborne! Ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) at the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico on December 30, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A chaotic photo! At the center, a gull flies toward the camera. From the angle seen the gull is white, with black wingtips (and the light gray on the tops of the wings can't be seen). Its beak is yellow with a black ring just back from the tip. The feet are yellow. The gull is closely surrounded by flying gulls of the same species, scattering in response to the raptor that just flew over them.
December 31, 2025 at 2:27 AM
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Abstract composition with northern harrier (Circus hudsonius). Photo taken near Willard, New Mexico on December 28, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
The image is dominated by ill-defined waves of tall, slightly slanting brown grass. In the upper right quadrant of the photo, a bird is flying just above the grass. The bird is imperfectly seen; it's flying somewhat away from the camera and the head isn't visible. The wings are stretched out flat; they're brown and gray and end in spread-out primary feathers tipped in black. The top of the tail looks lighter than the rest of the bird. Not a good bird ID picture -- I was going for an effect.
December 29, 2025 at 11:17 PM
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It's been a while since anyone had breakfast here, I'm sure. Photo taken in Encino, New Mexico on December 28, 2025.
A small white building with a brilliant blue sky behind it. The front elevation includes a stepped parapet and a small enclosed entry. Part of one side of the building is visible, indicating a gable roof and double-hung windows. The foreground includes a concrete slab and beat-down clumps of brown grass.
December 29, 2025 at 2:40 AM
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A curve-billed thrasher enjoying the winter sun from the top of a brush pile in Willard, New Mexico. Photo taken on December 28, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A robin-sized brown bird perched at the top of a discarded branch (which was topping a brush pile). The photo includes the head in profile, the back, the folded wings, and the tail. The visible plumage is remarkably uniform in color, compared to many birds. The long, curved bill comes to a sharp point. The eye is a striking yellow-orange that contrasts with the black pupil. The indistinct background shades from pink below to brown above -- it's not evident from the photo, but those colors derive from the back wall of the local church.
December 29, 2025 at 2:31 AM
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A female great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) enduring a winter drizzle. Photo taken at Isleta Lakes, New Mexico on December 27, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
The backdrop to this bird is short brown grass. The bird herself is dark, with a dull yellow eye. The beak, folded wings, and tail are slightly iridescent black. The head, neck, breast, and belly are a dull, dark brown. With all the brown and black, the photo does have a winter feel. On the back of the bird are tiny pearls of water, almost unnoticeable, representing droplets of rain.
December 28, 2025 at 1:38 AM
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A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) at Isleta Lakes, New Mexico on December 26, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
This image includes a heron that is deliberately placed below center, so that blue sky dominates the upper half of the picture. The heron's gray wings are extended to the sides. The head is tucked in, white the legs are trailing straight back. The head is a mix of white and gray, with a black cap. The eye is yellow, with a black pupil. The beak is long, narrow, and pointy, more gray at the base, more yellow at the tip. The underside of the bird is a mix of gray plumes and black and brown body plumage.
December 27, 2025 at 1:57 AM
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This morning I watched a pair of white-breasted nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) seemingly foraging on a graveled path. But the only items I saw them pick up were bits of rock. Photo taken at Isleta Lakes, New Mexico on December 26, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird on a graveled surface, facing just to one side of the camera. It's holding a jagged tiny bit of rock in its dark beak. The sides of the bird's head are white. A broad black streak extends from the beak up over the crown of the head. The visible eye is black. The visible part of the back and wings is dark gray. The white on the bird's cheeks extend down the neck and onto the breast and belly. The uppermost parts of the legs seem to have tan-colored "pantaloons," but these feathers aren't that visible. The tail is mostly hidden behind the bird. The background for the image is a blurred-out continuation of the graveled surface.
December 27, 2025 at 1:41 AM
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A "Gambel's" white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii) foraging for the seeds in skunkbush (Rhus trilobata) berries. Photo taken in the Rio Grande Bosque, Albuquerque on December 21, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
In the foreground, a bird perches on a spray of gray-brown twigs with many small red berries. The background is a blurred-out series of similar sprays of twigs. The most striking part of the bird is its crown, with its bold black and white stripes. The subspecies ID is based on the gray lores. That gray extends onto the cheek, neck, and chest. The visible portions of the folded wings and tail are a streaky pattern of brown, black, and white. The beak is a warm yellow-orange.
December 23, 2025 at 8:07 PM
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Even if you've hiked in the Sandia Mountains for years, here's a part of the foothills you may not know about. On Forest Service land, so no problem with public access. For details see www.dogofthedesert.net/sandia-footh.... Photo taken on December 22, 2025.
The bottom half of the image is mostly a flat surface with low dead greass. Part of my shadow appears at the lower left corner. A two-track dirt road is present along the left edge of the image. In the middle distance, the grass gives way to scattered low junipers. Farther back are dull green hills and mountains. The top third of the image shows an almost cloudless blue sky.
December 23, 2025 at 7:52 PM
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This male ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) was moving about manically as it foraged in the Bosque, but somehow I got a decent picture of it. The male's red crest is almost entirely hidden in this image, but earlier he flashed it at me. Photo taken on December 21, 2025.

#nature #birds
A bird on a bare branch is looking up, away from the camera. The bird's head, neck, and back are gray. The black eye is surrounded by a white eye ring that's wider fore and aft than above and below. The black beak is small, narrow, and pointy. The folded wings have striations of black and white (or light yellow). The belly and flank are gray with a yellowish wash. The tail is dark, but with faint yellow streaks. In this photo the background includes a branch behind the bird, but otherwise the background is a uniform pink.
December 21, 2025 at 10:43 PM
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My first experiment with landscape mode. We'll see how it goes... On the shortest day of 2025, two sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) fly up the Rio Grande in Albuquerque. One is an immature, the other an adult.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
Two cranes flying against a speckled brown background, the latter formed by dead cottonwood leaves still on the trees (but blurry, as befits a background). Both birds have their heads stretched forward and their legs stretched back. The bird to the left has its wings near the top of its flap cycle; its crown is brownish, so it's an immature. The bird to the right has its wings near the bottom of its flap cycle; it's crown is red, so it's an adult.
December 21, 2025 at 10:07 PM
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A male hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) at Tingley Beach in Albuquerque. Photo taken on December 20, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A male merganser rears slightly from a gently rippling pond, revealing his snowy white breast. The narrow black beak is an ideal fishing tool. The front of the head is jet black, with a bright yellow eye with a tiny black pupil. The crest is raised into a pompadour, black in front, white fringed with black at the back. The back is black, ending in black and white feathers. The visible flank is tan with an indistinct black border. The "shoulder" area is white with black streaks. A showoff of a bird!
December 21, 2025 at 8:34 PM
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Yesterday, this hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) and I startled each other in the Rio Grande Bosque (in Albuquerque, New Mexico). Photo taken on December 18, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird roughly the size and shape of a robin, but with a white breast with large dark spots. The throat is also white, with dark streaks and spots. The visible part of the head is mostly a streaky brown. The eye is large and dark, with a thin eye ring. The head is cocked up a bit, much as robins do. The back and folded wings are dark brown. The belly is white. At this angle, the tail looks mostly dark brown. The thrush is perched on a bare red branch, with additional but blurred branches in the foreground and background.
December 20, 2025 at 1:11 AM
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If you've never had a good look at the eyelashes on a greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), check out the second picture. This one practically ran me over but stopped long enough to glare. Photo taken at Tingley Beach, Albuquerque on December 18, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
The head of a roadrunner, against a plain gray background. The gray beak droops at the end. The plumage is predominated by an intricate pattern of black, white, and brown. The crest is raised, revealing black feathers. The eye includes a black pupil, surrounded by a thin yellow ring, surrounded by a thick brown ring. There's a bit of white in front of the eye and some light blue behind it. The image is detailed eough to show the black eyelashes, along with bristles (black above, white below) at the beak. Those eyelashes and bristles are specialized feathers. A close-up using the same image as before, but this time showing only an eye and the surrounding part of the face. The short feathers are an intricate mix of black, pale tan, and brown. The lashes extending from the upper eyelid are specialized feathers. This close up, when you look at the iris you can see a bit of reflected landscape, including the horizon (dark below, lighter above), a tree, and a bright spot that is the sun seen through haze.
December 19, 2025 at 1:25 AM
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A red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) checking me out as it loops overhead. Photo taken at Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area near Belen, New Mexico on December 17, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds #hawks
Looking up at a hawk with its wings and tail spread against a flawless blue sky. The sun is behind the hawk, so the flight and tail feathers have light diffusing through them. The undersides of the wing are white with thin dark stripes (on the flight feathers) and dark patches. The tips of the flight feathers are dark as well. The primaries at the ends of the wings are spread, not unlike fingers. The head is dark; the hawk is looking straight at the camera. The breast and belly are white with a band of dark speckles. In this light, the tail looks very pale red.
December 18, 2025 at 1:57 AM
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Once in a while, yours truly gets just a bit tired of realism, and wonders if there's a better way for a photograph to convey the reality of the captured moment. Hence this image of a great blue heron (Ardea herodias) in the Rio Grande Bosque, Albuquerque on December 12, 2025.

#nature #birds
First, what's shown in the original image. A flying great blue heron has its wings stretched out and slightly forward, its lower legs stretched straight forward, and its toes spread, as it gets ready to land on the stump of a large branch. The heron's head is forward, with the neck in an S shape. The heron is mostly shades of gray. The background of the photo is a confusing mix of gray branches and brown leaves. On this occasion I didn't fall back on photographic sharpness. Instead, the image is manipulated so that the heron's wing feathers look more like long strokes of paint, painted with a broad brush. The rest of the bird looks like it was painted with finer but still quick strokes. Similarly, the background looks like a mix of gray strokes and brown dabs. The original photo shows a dynamic moment -- the transition from flight to non-flight -- and I hope that the visual treatment underscores that sense of dynamism.
December 17, 2025 at 2:11 AM
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A female or immature Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana) foraging in a stretchberry bush (aka desert olive or New Mexico privet, Forestiera pubescens). Photo taken at Tingley Beach, Albuquerque on December 13, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird perches on a thin branch in the lower left quadrant of the photo. Its head, neck, and back are gray. The dark eye is surrounded by a thin white eyering. The feathers visible in the folded wings are mostly a dull light blue. The visible portion of the tail is a brighter blue. The flank is a light rust color. The vent area and undertail coverts are white. In the middle ground, the rest of the photo includes a few thin, bare branches with small, wrinkled, dark blue fruits. The background is a blurry mix of think gray branches and tan dead leaves.
December 16, 2025 at 10:17 PM