Northeastern New Mexico. Not very populated. High and dry. Warm weather,
prairie grass lush and green just going to seed. Rolling green hills
spotted with pinion, juniper and wildflowers. The Las Vegas Wildlife Refuge
is just a few miles from here. Thirty-one birds so far, including the blue
grosbeak.
Grand junction
Wow. What a week. Some jobs require more work than others. This one in
Grand Junction got all my energy. Hot too, over a hundred every day. Hot
everywhere except maybe Seattle. We did get to meet up with Matt, Kari and Alex on Friday, and a visit with
them on Saturday morning before we left. Headed south to Cortez for the
night on Saturday. I think it was brother Tom who liked the KOA in Cortez.
We stayed there for the first time, and we like it too. Nice place. Very
friendly people. Close in. If we get a job in Cortez, we’ll stay there. Moved on south and east to Las Vegas, New Mexico. We’ll be here for a week
with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Matt may have to contribute another story. We got a call Saturday after we
left. They put Alex down for a nap in the fifth wheel while they were
outside. Door closed and air conditioning on in the heat. Alex gets up
from his nap when he’s done. They hear him moving around inside so they go
to check on him. The door is locked. “Alex, did you lock the door?” “uh-huh.” “Alex, can you unlock the door?” “uh-huh.” “Alex, unlock the door.” It goes on. Earlier, while they were driving,
they discovered the red latches on the emergency exit window had been
undone. They had to stop and secure the flapping window. Now, could they
get him to unlock something? Anything? Not a chance. Took fifteen minutes
to regain control, well as much control as is possible over a two-year old.
Ridgway
Moved to Ridgway State Park south of Montrose. A fourteen bird day here,
and a new one, the williamson’s sapsucker. Right at our camp. Tomorrow, we head to Ouray for the slam-dunk-can’t-miss black swift at Box
Canyon Falls. This is the slam-dunk-can’t-miss bird that we tried for three
times last year and couldn’t get.
Ridgway
Black Swift! Got it! It’s fun to get a bird you haven’t seen before, but it’s really fun
to get one you’ve been after for a couple years. Some just fall into your
lap. Some you have to go after. Box Canyon Falls. Nothing flying. Follow
the catwalk into the sheer rock wall slot the water comes out of. Early in
the day, but it gets dark as you get closer to the falls. The roar from the
falls gets louder. Let your eyes adjust to the light. Scan the opposite
wall with your binoculars. There. That little black smudge against the
black wet rock. Give your eyes a little longer, and there it is. A black
swift sitting on its nest. Perfectly clear. Judy spots another. She often
finds the birds first. Now that we know where they are, we can see them
with the naked eye too. Black swifts. Back in the daylight, we watch the sky. There are swallows circling high,
above the forest on top of the cliffs, violet green swallows, but there,
flashing past, dark shapes with scimitar wings, much longer narrower wings
than a swallow. And twice the speed. White throated swifts and black
swifts as well. Steep rock canyon birds, feeding on insects in the air.
That really makes the day. We’ve seen them sitting quietly on the nest. We
see them flashing through the sky. This is very very good. With the kestrel family of four we’ve been watching, we’re up to twenty-five
birds at this park.
Basalt
Can you imagine pulling a trailer this big? It’s a triple axle trailer!