Gettin' Outa Town!

Grebes perform their synchronized "rush" dance across the water, creating splashes with their elegant stride.

Early April is usually my schedule for starting the eastward journey from Southern California to Michigan. And, so it went this year. Despite earlier "hiccups" with getting this blog post accomplished on the road, it is now ready for prime time.

First stop: Scottsdale, where I had been keyed into a popular location by a good friend. Up before sunrise to see these beauties, a Great Horned Owl Mama and Owlet nexting in a Saguaro Cactus.

This nest had been in use for years; last year with 3 reported owlets. But only one this year. Still fun to see while set up with my tripod among the 13 other photographers with tripods and cameras. The neat thing is that you are shooting the Owls at eye-level from the bridge over the wash.

Bonus shots: A beautiful Gila Woodpecker showed up!

Next stop: Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Reserve near Socorro, New Mexico. While this is usually a popular area for migrating Sandhill Cranes, they had already made their "move." Still fun to drive through the Reserve because there is always something to see. On this day, I caught a Greater Roadrunner in a tree, a Common Black Hawk also in a tree, a bunch of Wild Turkeys in the road, some Greater Yellowlegs (shorebirds) in the pond, and an American Kestrel flying by.

And finally my big surprise! While driving away from the Refuge, above a field there appeared to be a bunch of what looked like Turkey Vultures to me -- typically having a fair amount of dihedral in their wings and "bouncing" around in the currents. But, as I got closer, observing these birds were a bit smaller, more colorful, and with "prettier faces," the car stopped and the camera with the big lens came out.

In the field below the birds were at least 100 Swainson's Hawks, alternately flying and mucking about for insects and grasshoppers. This was a new bird for me! Use the link to get more information about this fascinating Buteo. Here's what I shot:

Long blog post, I know. Thanks for viewing and comments encouraged!

Steve