Dogofthedesert
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dogofthedesert.bsky.social
Dogofthedesert
@dogofthedesert.bsky.social
310 followers 17 following 280 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
This cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii) landed on a local pond this morning, along with five others of its kind and 11 Canada geese. It'll head back to the Arctic in the spring. Photo taken at Isleta Lakes (Isleta Pueblo, NM) on November 21, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
Sure looks a lot like a Canada goose! Black head and neck with a white chin that wraps up behind the eye; brown back and sides; white butt. But it was smaller than the nearby Canada geese, it has more of a baby face than that species, and in this case there's a bit of a white collar at the base of the black neck. It's floating in rippled blue-gray water.
November 21, 2025 at 11:46 PM
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Am I posting too many pictures of great blue herons (Ardea herodias)? I sure don't tire of taking the photos! I took this one at Isleta Lakes (Isleta Pueblo, NM) on November 21, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A great blue heron completing its landing on grass. It's wings are still outstretched. The lower part of the S-shaped neck includes many plumes. The dominant colors are gray, black, and white, but the legs are fully exposed, showing that the upper ends of the legs are tan-colored.
November 21, 2025 at 8:29 PM
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An immature or nonbreeding adult spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) racing its reflection, at Zia Reservoir on September 18, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
Most of this image is taken up with rippled water, looking a lot like an abstract painting with streaks of light blue, light and dark brown, and dull green. At the top center a bird flies across the image, with its blurry reflection below. The bird is a complicated mix of light brown, dak brown, and white. Its wings are outstretched.
November 20, 2025 at 4:00 PM
dogofthedesert.bsky.social
An American coot (Fulica americana) at Zia Reservoir on November 19, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A black, somewhat chicken-shaped bird looking at me as it floats in rippling water. The bird's beak is white, with a dark red spot ("callus") at its top. The eye is also dark red. The light off the ripples is a mix of brown and golden-brown.
November 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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A female or immature mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) at Zia Reservoir on November 19, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
For a supposedly blue bird, you have to strain to detect any blue! The bird is perched on a bare branch, with blue sky behind. The top and the back of the head are light gray. The chin and breast have a pale rufous tinge. The belly is white. The eye has a thin white eyering. The beak and feet are black.
November 19, 2025 at 10:57 PM
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While I was at Zia Reservoir this morning, horses came down to drink. Photo taken on November 19, 2025.

#horses
Four horses bending down their heads to drink from the edge of a pond. Left to right, there's a roan, a pinto, a gray, and a bay -- but beware, I'm not an expert on horse colors! In the foreground, coots swim on the pond. In the background is typical northern New Mexico vegetation, dominated by brown grass and brush and multiple dark green junipers.
November 19, 2025 at 10:41 PM
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Try as I might, I couldn't get a picture of this Western wood-pewee (Contopus sordidulus) without a branch in the way. I took the photo back on September 9; by now this bird is either on its way to, or already down in, South America.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
Looking at a bird from below. The head is gray, with a lighter gray chin, a yellow and black pointed beak, and a dark eye. The breast is light gray down the middle, darker on the sides, looking not unlike an open vest. The belly is light gray. The visible tail and wing feathers are black. The background is a uniformly blue sky.
November 18, 2025 at 11:22 PM
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Organizing photos this afternoon, I found an overlooked image of spectacle pod (Dimorphocarpa wislizeni) in bloom. It's a common New Mexico "weed," and a fun one to find. Photo taken in the Rio Grande Bosque, Albuquerque on September 9, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #flowers #wildflowers
A cluster of flowers, each with four white petals (it's in the mustard family). Each petal is shaped a lot like a pickleball paddle. Below the flowers -- blurred, unfortunately -- are examples of the seed pods, whose shapes have been likened to a pair of spectacles.
November 18, 2025 at 10:53 PM
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Ginkgo biloba leaves turning at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, on November 15, 2025.
A cluster of fan-shaped leaves on long stems. The outer portion of each leaf has turned bright yellow, but the inner portion is stil green.
November 17, 2025 at 2:49 PM
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The ruins of the final mission church at Pecos Pueblo, completed by 1717, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance. Photo taken at Pecos National Historic Site, New Mexico, on November 16, 2025.
A field of dry grass and low weeds begins in the foreground and recedes into the middle distance. There, to the left of center, stands the red-brown walls marking what's left of the old mission church. Past the middle distance, the grass and weeds give way to evergreen woodlands. Far in the distance are rounded mountain peaks. An intense blue sky includes a few small, puffy white clouds.
November 17, 2025 at 2:03 AM
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A female mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) at, fittingly, the University of New Mexico duck pond. Photo taken during a lovely campus walk on November 15, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds #duck
A female mallard stands in very shallow water, with green reeds behind. The mallard's plumage is a mix of light and dark brown -- very effective camoflauge. Her eye is brown. Her beak is a patchy mix of dull orange and black. Her legs and feet are dull orange.
November 16, 2025 at 11:32 PM
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A male Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana) on top of a Carsonite trail post along the Paseo del Bosque Trail, on November 14, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird perches atop a trail marker and gives me a sideways stare. His head, including his chin, is blue. His breast is dull red. His belly is gray. The eye, beak, and feet are black. The trail marker is white and blue, and the photo shows the word "MILE" in white. The background, which is completely blurred out, is a dull brown-green color (due to dead leaves still on bushes).
November 14, 2025 at 11:38 PM
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This morning in the Sandia Mountains, I was surprised to find a few scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) still blooming. On a south-facing slope with good cold air drainage, admittedly. Photo taken along the Tecolote Trail on November 13, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #flowers #wildflowers
A red trumpet-shaped flower droops from a stalk. The long tubular portion opens into five pointed petals. The flower has a red stigma, along with red stamens that end in yellow anthers. The middle background consists of blurred-out stalks and threadlike leaves. The deep background is light brown.
November 13, 2025 at 11:15 PM
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A neotropic cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) warming in the morning sun on November 10, 2025. Photo taken at Isleta Lakes, a Pueblo of Isleta tribal enterprise.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A bird with all black plumage, on a bare branch, with its back turned to the camera. The blue background is provided by a blurred-out pond surface. The neck is S-shaped. The head is in profile. The beak is gray, with yellow at the base. It's difficult to see, but the eye is blue-green.
November 13, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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This late in the fall, it's always interesting to see which insects are toughing it out. This female American rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana), for example. Photo taken in the Rio Grande Bosque in Albuquerque on November 12, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #damselfly
A damselfly rests on a twig, with blurred-out twigs and leaves behind it. It's clasping the twig with four of its legs. The body as a whole is dominated by streaks of dark brown and light cream. The wings are clear, with white pterostigmata and a reddish blush towards their bases.
November 12, 2025 at 11:07 PM
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We don't get many great egrets (Ardea alba) in Albuquerque, but there's one in town at the moment. Photo taken at Rio Grande Nature Center State Park on November 11, 2025.

#nature #naturephotography #birds
A large egret with plumage as white as a cloud. The pale orange beak is long and sharp. The eye is yellow and the lores are greenish. The legs, one of which is slightly lifted, are black. The egret is perched on a bare branch, with a flawless blue sky behind it.
November 11, 2025 at 8:14 PM
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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