Heron on Watch

As we did some off-road exploring on a recent camping trip, we came across this great heron.  It’s not often that I get to watch one for this long!

Heron at Rest

This was our first view of this lovely guy.  He was sort of surveying the shoreline looking for…….I don’t know!

Heron on Rio Chama

So, now he’s checking out what’s going on along the river, and he seems a bit interested in something along the opposite shores.

Heron Take Off

This is the second time on this trip that I was able to capture a bird at the moment of takeoff.  I love the symmetry of his wings and his legs……and the shadow is pretty cool, too!

Low Flying Heron

Here he is, flying amazingly low and still checking out the opposite shoreline.  What’s incredible is that he’s so close to the water, if he had to flap his wings, they would hit the water.  He knows he can make this crossing without one single flap – cool!

Enjoy!



Birds Along the Rio Chama & A Surprise

As we explored along the Rio Chama, we came across more birds that I guess I expected to see.  Take a look......

I'm pretty certain the images above and below are of cormorants.  I don't know that I've seen these birds  in this part of New Mexico since we moved here, but there were a number of them here on the river!  I love watching them take off.  They sort of "run" on the water until they get up enough speed for their wings to lift them into the air!

In this image, it seems like a couple of the cormorants are leaving their buddy behind.  Don't worry, tho - a few seconds after this shot, the guy on the far left of the image took wing, too!

I'm not sure why, but it just felt odd watching the Canadian geese fly overhead down here in New Mexico!  They did land and enjoy the river, but I wanted to share this image because I never noticed their flying pattern before.  Check it out - geese #1 & #3 are in one position, while geese #2 & #4 are in another.  No matter how many shots I took of them flying, this alternating pattern was there.  Interesting!

Here was another surprise - a heron enjoying the river.  I guess I sort of startled him when I started snapping photos, because he decided (suddenly) to take off.  Still, I was able to capture this image of him "in action" so to speak!

And, here's the surprise.  Even tho it's not a "natural" bird, this image of a man made bird (a jet) and it's contrail while the moon was still in the sky created a lovely photo!

 

Enjoy!

Exploring Along the Rio Chama

On the Saturday of our camping weekend at Abiquiu, we explored a dirt road that ran alongside the Rio Chama (Chama River).  Here are some of the highlights -

The above image is one of those that never ceases to amaze me - plant life just sort of springing up out of rock.  I guess this speaks to the overall determination that makes up life, in a way.

When you have a pup-child that loves water, you can't be philosophical for too long, tho!  Miki just loves fetching sticks thrown in the water.  The current was pretty strong, tho, so Jeff didn't toss that stick too far out there.  Miki just loves getting wet, tho!

This scene (above) is one of those that I love to take of life here in the Southwest.  Frequently, people think the Southwest is just desert and/or rocks.  It is, of course, but it's also much more.  Green trees along a river with tree branches overhead is also a part of this great area of our country!

Jeff & I have been talking about getting a little pop-up trailer that we can tow behind our Jeep, just so we can camp in places just like this!  This spot would actually be a great campsite for that type of camping.  There was a nice area where we could pull off the dirt road and set up to have this relaxing scene for a weekend get-away.  Hmmm....many more scenes like this will definitely convert me to liking his idea!

The above shot is one of those that I just love of New Mexico.  The red of the rocks and the green of the trees and bushes create sort of an ongoing Christmas color thing!  This scene was on the same dirt road that ran alongside the Rio Chama, but in this area, the road headed uphill and away from the river a bit.

And, finally, I just had to share this image.  If you click on the image and enlarge it, you'll see the fisherman in the lower left corner.  He really makes the image for me, creating a wonderful peaceful feeling, and also adding perspective so that you truly feel how wide open things are here.

 

Enjoy!