Like finding emeralds, rubies, and diamonds in the desert

[Al Hansen]

We were having one of our common "severe" clear days so in the afternoon I decided to go sit by the pond with my camera. I backed into a creosote bush with a patio chair and got comfortable while waiting for anything worthy of "picture taking".

A friend of mine had once said, "In the southwest desert, just add the magic ingredient (water) and they will come. He was right.
Al

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Just as I was ready to go back into the house I had these larger birds fly over.

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[Pete McMiller]

Wonderful pics Al, thanks. You certainly live in a diverse bird community.

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Are those Gambel's quail? They look similar to California quail I saw in the San Francisco area many years ago, but your habitat is surely different and the birds look a little different, too.

Neat birds and great pics.

 

[Al Hansen]

Thanks so much, Pete. I think that it is another reason why this state is known as the "Land of Enchantment".
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Good question, Jeff. They are different but like you suggested, by not much. They are Gambel's quail and we have quite a few around our area. Most of them have now paired up. We just received about a half inch of rain and this will really help them. Normally this time of the year is so dry that without humidity their nesting/hatching results aren't very good. I have to admit that it is a joy to see a pair of quail running around with a brood of 15 or 16. By the way, just south of us in the Bosque del Apache NWR area, they also have Scaled quail.
Al

 

[Rick L]

Al

these are always enjoyable- I always pass your bird pictures posts to my wife - she loves looking at them

 

[Al Hansen]

Hi Rick,
I appreciate those comments. It was good to hear that your wife also enjoys looking at bird pictures. Thank you.
Al

From the looks of the huge puddles around our home, it sure seems like we had between a 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of rain in the past 15 hours. Now that makes me hope that teal season is just around the corner but I know I have 135 days to wait. Could be a cloud of dust by then.

 

[Dave Blink]

Al,

Great photo's as usual. It would appear, by the trailing in flight refueling line, that even the Osprey was getting a drink.

Dave

 

[Mark W]

So what does an Osprey sound like flying overhead? Loud?

Mark W

 

[Al Hansen]

Thank you, Dave. Glad you caught that one. You are so right!
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Hey, Mark. I can tell you that you wouldn't want a Bell Boeing V-22 flying over your house on final. Not a good combo at all.
Al

 

[Tom Roberts]

Great photos! I don't think I can pick a favorite. They're all good. I remember years ago being in the Black Mesa country and seeing large and small jets flying over occasionally practicing low level flying. In that low populated and remote area they can get away with those kind of fly-bys without endangering few if any people.

 

[Doug Bowman]

Al

Great pics as always.

Really love the quail pics, you ever hunt them in season?

 

[Al Hansen]

Thanks, Tom. I was out cutting firewood on a ranch several years ago that was part of the White Sands fly zone. Well, I don't know if they were F-16s or not from Holloman AFB but one of them created a sonic boom that sounded like it was about 100 feet from me. I darn near had to change my shorts.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Thanks for the comment, Doug. No, I have never hunted quail I guess just because we feed them all the time. We love having them around our property. Funny you asked because not that long ago I used to hunt about everything imaginable and now I just hunt ducks.
Al

 

[D. Hinton]

Great pics! I love the mid air-refueling shot!! You may go the rest of your life and never see that again