There were two roadrunners running across my trail, but one seemed to have taken off and the other stayed with me. For a split second ….
Here one second, gone the next …
Actually it came running towards me! What!?!
Roadrunner running towards me…
I thought it strange for it to be heading right at me … then past me. My finger clicked away on my camera to capture the action. A 100-400 mm camera lens though was a disadvantage with this close-encounter.
Bird on a mission!
The Pima tribe believe it is a sign of good luck to see a roadrunner. Good to know. I always want to see the bird’s X-shaped footprints. But once again the ground did not capture the foot’s imprint. Pueblo tribes consider the footprint sacred symbols. The X-shape footprint hides the direction the bird is moving and thus confuses evil spirits. The next second I knew where this bird was heading …
into the tree….
The bird flew into a nearby tree. Rarely do I see Greater roadrunners, their official name, in a tree. So I decided to spend some time with the bird. It was making a sound similar to drumming on wood. I thought it was pecking into the tree, but it was not. All sound was coming from its vocal cords.
Bird is not making this photo easy.
The bird climbed higher into the tree. Photographing it was a challenge so I slowly walked around the tree. My goal was to capture a photo of the bird with less tree branches in the way. Slowly I stepped and clicked away, until I finally had some decent photos.
Thank you for the pose!
Jumps around for a different pose, thank you!
With tail and head almost parallel to the ground, the roadrunner was out of the tree and running to an open area. I am not sure if it caught up with the other roadrunner it was with earlier. They are usually solitary birds, but who knows?
And it is off to somewhere…
In our backyard, a roadrunner can often be seen running through. Our hope is it enjoys eating lizards and snakes it may find there. While doing some research for this post, I learned a baby roadrunner is an “alleywalker”. A flock of roadrunners, a “marathon” or “race”. Very interesting!
My visit to Rapa Nui, Easter Island, was filled with so much history! No doubt, I will research more about this island, in the middle of the Pacific, when I return home.
Stones
Moai are carved stones to honor a leader or an important ancestor. The amazing info to me was where carvers started their work and transported the stone to the burial site, an ahu. We visited the quarry on the island. Some stones are still attached to the quarry wall. Others were beginning their transport … maybe with 5-6 men using ropes or a rocking motion to move the stone…. some fell over, broke and still remain in place. Many others were successful in the move; yet I’d really love to see how they moved such huge stones since we all can only speculate! Let me share some photos from the quarry site:
Looking closely where moai were carved from and closer are moai that were being moved.A closer look.A moai looking up; unrestored, weathering away.
Volcanoes
The quarry was a huge site to walk around. So was our visit to another part of the island, the rim of the Rano Kau volcano. As we stood at the crater’s edge, we look down onto a freshwater lake with reeds. A part of the crater has collapsed and you can see the Pacific Ocean.
Rano Kau volcano
The island resulted from much volcanic action. There were 3 major volcanic sites and also smaller volcanoes adding to this island’s creation. The freshwater lake in Rano Kao is only 18 feet deep. In the 1980’s, a plant was found to be of great medicinal importance with transplant healing.
Birdman
At the crater’s edge, Orongo, is the starting location for the annual Birdman competition. You will see stone houses and carvings here. For a couple of hundred years, the tribes competed till the introduction of Catholicism in 1867.
Restored houses for teams in Birdman competition.
All 12 tribes of the island may each send their tribal leader, a young man, who will compete, and their families Hereford the start of the competition. The young man will run down the crater’s side, swim in the ocean about a mile to collect a sooty tern’s egg, place it in their headband, swim and climb back. They had to time their effort with the nesting and egg-laying time so as to be successful and not have a broken egg! The winners are three: the tribe, the leader and the young man; however, the “Birdman” for a year is the leader. Please research more, if you are interested, as it is all quite fascinating!
Human form with bird head… see petroglyph below:Each a different Birdman? Maybe.
We are off to Buenos Aires, so I will write in a week. Adios!
I recently learned observations of mine with the iNaturalist app can be tracked. With past input of red-eared slider observations, I discover I have seen this animal at the following times and locations: July 2020 in Tucson, Arizona. April 2021 in Marana, Arizona. April 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. July 2025 in Tucson, Arizona. That is so cool! I love this app allowing me to be a “citizen scientist”. Join, for free, if you are out in nature, have a smart phone, and wish to add to the observations. Download iNaturalist app.
Colorado’s beauty is in its natural landscape. Between the mountains, open landscapes, creeks and rivers, all often bordered with sweet yellow clover, there is a calm. Enter a small or larger town and the frenetic pace of life kicks in with one wishing for the quiet space once again. This is how I felt driving from Walsenburg to Cortez.
Thankfully Wolf Creek Pass and miles between towns were calm as was where I spent last night outside of Pagosa Springs. As I mentioned in the previous post, I appreciated this Harvest Host location at 84 Ranch. Only the wind. Even the cows in the field were silent! It’s wonderful to escape life’s noises every so often. I wish I could bottle this silence. Plus there is no cell service so I can completely unplug from the world events. Time to think, meditate, read, write, sketch and simply be! The sun did go down and the stars were huge!I wish everyone could have this experience. It’s a shame they cannot.
A view!
My sketch
Next morning I visited Chimney Rock National Monument, located between Pagosa Springs and Durango. It was designated a national monument in 2012 and is one of only 14 managed by the US Forest Service. I took the Great House Trail tour and learned the ancestral Puebloans were most aware of the moon’s location between Chimney and Companion Rock every 18.5 years. Sites like this continue to be spiritually significant to Native Americans. Please always treat these sites with respect. Always.
Moon aligns between the rocks every 18.5 years!
The next day, while in Cortez area, I visited Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. My first early morning stop was at Lowry Pueblo and guaranteed to have the place to yourself. Canyon of the Ancients was designated a national monument in 2000 and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. During the month of September, the Bureau of Land Management provides special recreation permits for the public to also use the land. This is very different than land managed by the US Forest Service which does not provide that option.
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument encompasses 176,000 acres and so far there are 8300 documented sites with ancestral Pueblo artifacts. Archeologists think another 10,000 sites are possible on this land. Be sure to stop at the visitor center and view the couple of films, the museum and the Escalante Pueblo, a short walk up a paved trail. I cannot help but notice what great locations these pueblos are at with 360 degree view. No doubt it was for defensive positioning. Looking across the sage plain and to the far away mountains also provided a place of beauty.
Amazing rock wall building of a side wall!
Escalante Pueblo by the Canyon of the Ancients visitor center, another place to visit!
Bird watching during my visit to Ecuador was not the priority. But heck, birds were everywhere so I couldn’t help but see them! Earlier I mentioned 66 new birds added to my eBird checklist… right…
Will I only ever see a Nazca booby in the Galápagos? Always heard so much about the blue-footed booby… and would not be by the island where there are red-footed boobies… you read that correctly! They exist and never to be seen by me. The sighting of a Nazca booby…. Yes I did! Even got a photo!
The real bird looks better…I loved seeing this bird!
Five new birds seen in Quito, 40 in the Amazon and 21 at the various Galápagos Islands. Now while home reminiscing about my travel, I spent time sketching some of the birds I saw. Some birds were numerous and others were a once in a lifetime opportunity to see. Bird photographers would have a wonderful time in Ecuadors. Quite honestly though, so would other travelers as I think I only skimmed what Ecuador has to offer.
Galápagos Island birdsNapo River Amazon area in Ecuador
Time to change things up and not spend time photographing birds, sketching, or painting with watercolors; all activities I enjoy, but time to use my macro lens. Plant life is easiest for macro photography until a constant breeze interrupts the scene. I had time in Southern California this month to capture some photographs and here they are; enjoy!
Some animal life with the plants…
Interesting insects on the ground, so of course I had to photograph them too!
Actually, I may think about sketching or painting some of these photos … time will tell! I hope you have taken time to get outdoors and see what is blooming in your area … and to enjoy!
Everyone wants to enjoy blooming flowers after a winter season. Whether it is simply to see more color in the world, hike in a colorful area, or capture a photo of nature’s beauties, we search for the bloomers! I went to Borrego Springs to do all of the above last month!
The scenery was dreary as I looked to the mountains west of the Salton Sea; however, what the heck, drive over and check out the Borrego Springs area. I arrived about 9:00am and walked among white and purple wildflowers with 4 other people at a wildflower field just off the main road. It was wonderful having the place to myself as I photographed the field and flowers.
As I walked back to my van to check my photos, many people were arriving and within the next couple of hours at least 100 people stopped by! Even as clouds with rainfall started, people were walking into the field with umbrellas and cameras trying to capture the right light for their photos. Many people enjoyed the scene as I did. Here are some photos:
Sometimes we have opportunities to see a beautiful sunset. Here are some photos as I looked across the Salton Sea. The last photo of the double rainbow was when I turned around to walk back to my van for the night. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did in the moment!
Numerous mornings I would look out my back window at our two bird feeders. They would sway in the breeze or hang perfectly still. Sometimes with a bird or two trying to feed at them, other times no one. My 2023 goal has been to enter a daily eBird checklist. Most often when I am home, I am observing the birds here at our feeders.
As fall temperatures arrived, I noticed the birds coming to the feeder later per day, sitting on tree branches in the sunshine and not moving to the feeder till minutes later. They would sit with puffed-up feathers, content to just be.
I too am finding fall mornings more mellow, less rushed, and allowing me time to consider a midday walk while temperatures are still comfortable. Gone are the days in needing to walk during the early sunrising hours or planning a trip to the air-conditioned local gym.
A few days ago I observed a Greater roadrunner walking across our yard’s back wall. The bird was in no rush. I thought, wow, I have so much time to capture a photo, but where’s my camera? The next day I wondered if the birds I was observing were white-crowned sparrows with dark-lores or not.
Where’s my camera? Isn’t it always someplace a distance away? Or with lens not attached to the camera body? Or simply not where you want it and need it to be?
Here’s my solution. Keep the camera with your lens of choice on a tripod in the room where most sightings are being made. For me, I can see our bird feeders and the pollinator plants that attract birds with my camera in place on a tripod. Having the camera on the tripod makes it immediately available to me, along with it being on a tripod so I can pivot from feeder to plant or wherever … even that brick wall! While it is true that I am shooting through our back window, which I am fortunate to have a clean window, there is some challenge to getting the absolute best photo, but I am not complaining … I got a photo! Here are some from one morning:
Warming up before feeding time.
Hummingbird scooted around this plant for a minute.
Hungry hummingbird!
The hummingbird did take time to sit on a branch!
Then … it took off … and so did I …. happy to have had my camera!
From Grand Junction, Colorado I traveled Interstate 70 west and a route south toward Moab, Utah. I have fun-filled memories of time spent hiking, mountain biking and camping in Moab with my partner many, many years ago. The town has exploded in size since our visit here. When we visited Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park and Dead Horse State Park years ago, we never needed on-line reservations ahead of our visit. Now, if you have plans to visit any of the parks, be sure to do your research and know if you need a reservation for a specific day’s timed-entry into a park.
Anyway, I grabbed sandwich-makings at a supermarket and continued on to Monument Valley, Utah where I was camping the next 2 nights. As I passed Bear’s Ears National Monument, I realized I should have added a couple of days to explore that area … next time!
I arrived at my Utah campground and saw a guided tour was leaving in 15 minutes. I hopped on it. There is a huge advantage to have a guide drive their vehicle over the dirt, washboard-like roads in the Monument Valley Tribal Park which is located in Arizona. An extra benefit I discover, the guide takes us into the back-country where other visitors can only drive on the basic scenic loop. Our Navajo guide was great in explaining things, driving through the sandy areas on the road, and stopping numerous places for us to take photographs. Seven customers, out of 12 of us, were from Europe. Our biggest challenge was the wind blowing sand all around. Thankfully I wore glasses and even put on a face mask so less was in my mouth and nose. Shout out to the “Clean Life, No Rinse Bathing Wipes” I used after the tour! Since it was windy and rainy at 8:30pm when I got back to camp, I used those wipes and could not believe the amount of sand in my ears!
Climbed up the sand dune … heart-pounding work!
Looking back down – just to give you perspective!
See the face?
The next day I drove about a 15 mile loop on a road a local person suggested when I asked for a place to explore. The majority of the distance was on a very sandy, washboard-like dirt road and my van rattled like crazy! I saw 4 other local people on the road and I eventually passed Olijado, Utah. In Navajo it means “moon over water”. Two different locals told me that meaning. Here are two photos:
Only town on the road
Beautiful sight to see!
I returned to Monument Valley Tribal Park … to check out the visitor center and then to participate in another tour. This was a sunset photography tour with a Navajo guide. My first hope was for a sunset worth photographing since the previous day was so windy, cloudy, gray and eventually rainy. Oh no … This evening began with a major downpour of rain and wind-blown sand! I thought what a disaster this was going to be! Two other people were on the tour with me and we remained hopeful.
Finally the storm passed! Thankfully it was a three hour tour and our guide knew where to drive for good photo opportunities and to not drive in clay areas where we would be stuck in it in our vehicle. (No cell service out here!) The other huge advantage was our vehicle had windows we could close. I felt so sorry for the people in the open-sided vehicles! No rain gear would keep them dry with this storm!
Our guide was very good. He spoke Navajo, so we could hear the language, and explained what he was saying. He had many interesting stories about his life and the Navajo tribe. It was nice to have a small group on the tour. Photos are below.
If you are interested in visiting Monument Valley Tribal Park, which is in Arizona, you can stay at the campground, cabins or The View Hotel, all on tribal land. I stayed at a Utah campground just outside the area and paid $8.00 per day as I visited the tribal park, plus the fee for any tour taken. I am looking forward to a return visit!
