February 23, 2009 | 
Author 
This is just one of the scenic views at Bosque del Apache near Socorro, NM. This article is the second in my series recounting my recent trip to “The Bosque.” Time to get up-close and personal with the birds! Since Bosque is renowned for its masses of wintering Sandhill Cranes…I’ll save those for my last article in this series! 
There are TONS of birds at Bosque, and I’ll start with a Roadrunner:
This is the first time I have ever had a nice, LONG look at a Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). It feels funny to describe my encounter this way, since my previous mental image of a roadrunner was the Disney cartoon character, who was always gone in a flash.
Not much of a resemblance…but the dashing around is true enough. This roadrunner did something really cool while I stood at the opposite side of the road, watching him as the occasional car idled by. 
After about 5 minutes with no cars, the roadrunner turned his back to the sun, spread his wings, and soaked up some warmth! It turns out that this is a noted behavior for roadrunners. Roadrunners can lower their body temperature overnight, thereby conserving energy. So in the mornings, there may be quite a few roadrunners who are a bit extra-chilly. Their skin is black, which is all the better to soak up that much-needed heat.1
~
The next bird I want to share with you is a Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya):
When I saw this bird, I knew it was a flycatcher of some sort, but I had to wait until I could study the picture and consult my field guides before I could identify him. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to identify him at all…but this little guy is pretty distinctive, with his buff belly and black tail.
I think I figured out why many of my pictures were so poorly focused. When I first arrived, I attempted some hand-held shots from my car, and switched my vibration reduction setting to “active.” Then I gave up the whole hand-held thing, and returned to my usual tripod method.
I never switched my vibration reduction back to “normal.” I’m not 100% sure, but that is what makes the most sense to me. So, fellow birder-photographers, there’s a tip for ya.
The phoebe eventually dashed off, and I moved on.
~
I saw another phoebe while visiting Bosque del Apache – a Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) !!!
Have you seen the range map 2 for these beauties? Only a privileged few in the United States get to see this bird on a regular basis3:
He exhibited the typical tail-wagging behavior of most flycatchers, and he sure looked snazzy doing it!
~
Ok, time to talk about raptors:
Red-tailed Hawk at The Bosque
This raptor (above) was sitting quite still, and I noticed that he did not look like the raptor I usually see at home (Red-tailed Hawk). There are Red-tailed Hawks just about everywhere!
I am not a whiz at raptor ID, but I think this may be a Cooper’s Hawk or a Sharp-shinned Hawk. If anyone knows for sure, please speak up! Look at the difference in the length of the tail feathers, between these two. Pretty distinct, huh?
As long as I am talking about raptors, I will go ahead and share a mediocre-at-best photo of a colorful American Kestrel (Falco sparverius). I realize that these tiniest of falcons can be seen just about anywhere in the US, but it took a giant road trip for me to finally see one!
I think now is a good time to bring this installment of the Bosque del Apache series to a close. I hope you’ve enjoyed it!
Time to go outside!
- The Behavior of Texas Birds, by Kent Rylander, ©2002 ↩
- Note- Range depicted for New World only. The scale of the maps may cause narrow coastal ranges or ranges on small islands not to appear. Not all vagrant or small disjunct occurrences are depicted. For migratory birds, some individuals occur outside of the passage migrant range depicted. A shapefile of this map is available for download at www.natureserve.org/getData/animalData.jsp. ↩
- Note: Range depicted for New World only. The scale of the maps may cause narrow coastal ranges or ranges on small islands not to appear. Not all vagrant or small disjunct occurrences are depicted. For migratory birds, some individuals occur outside of the passage migrant range depicted. A shapefile of this map is available for download at www.natureserve.org/getData/animalData.jsp. ↩
Posted in Birding
That tail on the red-tailed hawk looks pretty short! In fact, when I first looked at it I said, what happened to his tail?…so much for my ID help. Loved your roadrunner, says phoebe and the black phoebe. Wonderful fun place isn’t it!
Isn’t it great to visit a National Wildlife Refuge? We get to see so many birds close up that we may not get to see otherwise.
The Greater Roadrunner captures are AWESOME! We used to see them around our house 25 years ago but they are few and far between now. We have regular sightings in Shasta County but I haven’t been able to see one lately. They are really cool birds and I didn’t know about the “sunning.”
We get to see Say’s and Black Phoebes often but I never realized their range was so small. I feel very privileged now. I love watching the Black Phoebe hawking insects along the river. Isn’t it strange how we take our local birds for granted sometimes?
I think you are right about the Cooper’s Hawk. The tail looks rounded to me and the Sharpie has a square tail. The head also looks too big for a Sharpie. These two are always difficult to tell apart.
Nice Red-tailed Hawk capture too. And I am soooo jealous of your American Kestrel shot. This is one of my favorite birds and I see them every day on my way to work but they fly off whenever I get anywhere near close enough for a photo. I did get a chance to hold one though, when I helped my friend Steve band some of his babies. He monitors 76 American Kestrel nest boxes in Central California.
What a fun visit to Bosque Del Apache Amber! Keep ‘um comin’!
Vickie-yes, Bosque del Apache IS a great place!
Larry-I was so impressed with my first visit to a NWR, that I am planning a visit to Hagerman NWR just as soon as I finish my spring gardening work. So many birds, so little time!
I agree that it was a Cooper’s hawk. The bosque is full of them.
Yes, it is a Cooper’s Hawk. We’ve never been to Bosque so thank you for sharing your experiences there.
Great photos, Amber. I got “homesick” for the Bosque while reading your post. That is my favorite NWR; there’s always so much to see and do there. Thanks for sharing!
We visited Bosque several times on trips to New Mexico … extraordinary place. We settled down at a viewing window in the visitors’ center overlooking a water seep, wet but not quite a pond, and realized that the bird happily splashing away like a robin in a Pennsylvania backyard was a Cooper’s. Wow!