nm wildlife

Beep, Beep!

March 24, 2023 — 24 Comments

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 250.

Greater Roadrunner

Why can you never trust atoms?

They make up everything!

Interesting Fact: Roadrunners have evolved a range of adaptations to deal with the extremes of desert living. Like seabirds, they secrete a solution of highly concentrated salt through a gland just in front of each eye, which uses less water than excreting it via their kidneys and urinary tract. Moisture-rich prey including mammals and reptiles supply them otherwise-scarce water in their diet. Both chicks and adults flutter the unfeathered area beneath the chin (gular fluttering) to dissipate heat. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Roadrunner/overview ) 

My New Year’s resolution Is To Stop Hanging Out With People Who Ask Me About My New Years’s Resolutions.

December 31, 2022 — 26 Comments

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 320.

Sandhill Crane

What’s the problem with jogging on New Years Eve?

The ice falls out of your drinks!

Interesting Fact: Sandhill Cranes are known for their dancing skills. Courting cranes stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air in a graceful and energetic dance. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sandhill_Crane/lifehistory )

I Wonder If Earth Makes Fun Of Other Planets For Having No Life.

November 11, 2022 — 8 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

American Coot

Why was the broom late?

It over swept!

Interesting Fact: The ecological impact of common animals, like this ubiquitous waterbird, can be impressive when you add it all up. One estimate from Back Bay, Virginia, suggested that the local coot population ate 216 tons (in dry weight) of vegetation per winter. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot )

Let’s Swim Away Together!

March 16, 2022 — 7 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 200.

Wood Ducks

A man and a woman have just had their 50th wedding anniversary.

The husband turns to his wife and asks, “What do you want to do to celebrate our anniversary dear?”

She replies, “Let’s run upstairs and make love.”

He turns to her and says, “Well make up your mind, we can’t do both!”

Interesting Fact: Egg-dumping, or “intraspecific brood parasitism” is common in Wood Ducks—females visit other Wood Duck cavities, lay eggs in them, and leave them to be raised by the other female. This may have been made more common by the abundance and conspicuousness of artificial nest boxes; in some areas it happens in more than half of all nests. Individual females typically lay 10-11 eggs per clutch, but some very full nests have been found containing 29 eggs, the result of egg-dumping. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory#behavior )

If Money Is Made Out Of Paper, Doesn’t That mean money Grows on Trees?

March 7, 2022 — 17 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.

Brown Creeper

What do you do when two snails have a fight?

Leave them to slug it out!

Interesting Fact: Sometimes creepers build nests in unusual places, such as behind window shutters, in or under roofs, inside fenceposts, or inside concrete blocks. One brought up a family in a specially constructed box made of pieces of Douglas-fir bark. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper/lifehistory )

Work, Really? Agian? Didn’t I Just Do That Yesturday?!

March 2, 2022 — 9 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 160.

Sandhill Crane

What do Snowmen call their offspring?

Chill-dren.

Interesting Fact: Sandhill Cranes mate for life, choosing their partners based on dancing displays. Displaying birds stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sandhill_Crane/lifehistory )

Don’t Be A Creep!

February 21, 2022 — 10 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Brown Creeper

Past, present and future walk into a bar.

It was tense!

Interesting Fact: The Brown Creeper spends most of its time spiraling up tree trunks in search of insects. It holds its short legs on either side of its body, with the long, curved claws hooking into the bark, and braces itself with its long, stiff tail. Both feet hop at the same time, making the bird’s head duck after each hop. Because of its specialized anatomy, the Brown Creeper rarely climbs downward: once high in a tree, it flies down to begin a new ascent at the base of a nearby tree. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper/lifehistory )

He Is On My Tail!

February 19, 2022 — Leave a comment

F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 160.

Wood Duck

What do you call an old snowman?

Water!

Interesting Fact: Breeding pairs search for nest cavities during early morning. The male stands outside as the female enters and examines the site. They typically choose a tree more than 1 foot and often 2 feet in diameter, with a cavity anywhere from 2–60 feet high (higher sites seem to be preferred). ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory ) 

 

 

But I’m A Creep!

November 2, 2021 — 16 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Brown Creeper

Why was Cinderella thrown off the basketball team?

She ran away from the ball.

Interesting Fact: Brown Creepers burn an estimated 4–10 calories (technically, kilocalories) per day, a tiny fraction of a human’s daily intake of about 2,000 kilocalories. By eating a single spider, a creeper gains enough energy to climb nearly 200 feet vertically. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper )

Duck You Sucker

March 24, 2021 — 4 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 200.

Wood Duck

A really big drunk walked into a bar and, after staring for some time at the only woman seated at the bar, walked over to her and kissed her.

She jumped up and slapped him silly.

He immediately apologized and explained, “I’m sorry. I thought you were my wife. You look exactly like her.”

“Why you worthless, insufferable, wretched, no good drunk!” she screamed.

“Funny,” he muttered, “you even sound exactly like her.”

Interesting Fact: Wood Ducks seem to fare best when open water alternates with 50–75% vegetative cover that the ducks can hide and forage in. This cover can consist of downed trees, shrubs such as alder, willow, and buttonbush, as well as emergent herbaceous plants such as arrowhead and smartweeds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory )