Seen from Sandia Crest - part 3

Ta da! And here are my photos of the rosy finches I saw at the feeders at the Sandia Crest House. I had to "enhance" most of these (in PhotoShop). You will probably want to click on the photos to see a larger image, especially the ones where the birds were down in the rocks. I'm not sure I can attempt to ID the species, except the white-breasted nuthatch in the last few photos.

Seen from Sandia Crest - part 2

I may have mentioned in my previous post that I took three separate trips up to Sandia Crest. The first time was a gorgeous late morning, full of sunshine and it felt good and warm, with no wind (which is unusual) at Sandia Crest. But because it was close to noon, birds were not active and plentiful. But the views as seen in my previous post were really nice. All three trips my husband and I saw Steller's Jays. They may be robber barons, but they are beautiful robber barons. I love their coloring and their crests are so prominent. These birds are approximately 12-13 inches, so you can imagine they are quite easily seen and they certainly can intimidate smaller birds.

We spent about an hour or two at the crest that first warm day; and since we didn't see too many birds, we decided to head down the "hill." While driving down the hill we were approximately a thousand feet lower, around the ski area, and I saw a hawk perched in a pine tree. Excitedly I asked my husband to stop so I could try to identify the bird. Oh, he was so beautiful, so regal looking. I had to quickly change lenses so I could get a few decent shots of him/her. Be sure to click on the images to get a larger view. With the photo below you can see that this hawk was looking at me, probably wondering "what are you looking at lady?"
This next shot makes it look like he/she was quite annoyed with my picture taking. I wonder if I was disturbing him/her from finding its next meal. I was thinking it must be a red-tailed hawk, but I wasn't sure.
And then ... there was no doubt as it took off. Sorry about the blur - I must not have had a fast enough shutter speed on my camera. But at least I got a shot of this beautiful bird in flight.
The next time we returned to Sandia Crest it was after our trip to the Bosque del Apache. We drove up in the afternoon, but it was terribly windy and I was uncomfortable hanging around outside. So I don't think I got any bird photos that day. Instead we returned for a third trip and decided it would be best to see more birds if we go in the morning. There were dozens of birds flitting around all over the place. Many of them were red-breasted nuthatches, like these little ones in the photos below. Other birds I saw, but didn't get any decent photos of, were mountain chickadees and white-breasted nuthatches.


Did I see any rosy finches? Finally, on the third day I did! And I got to see all three species. Stay tuned for photos in my next post.

Seen from Sandia Crest - part 1

Since we stayed overnight in Albuquerque the first few nights of our vacation, we had the opportunity to drive up to Sandia Crest more than once. So the following photos are a scenic collection of those few trips we took. Sandia Crest is the highest point of Sandia Peak; the ski area is a thousand feet lower, and the aerial tram is also below the crest, located on the west side of the mountain. The crest is where one can see Albuquerque, the Rio Grande River running through the Duke City, and Mount Taylor to the west. To the east, one can see the high mesa that is the southernmost part of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. As you glance at the photos I will describe them more thoroughly. (Click on the images to enlarge them). Below is what one would find as they arrive in the parking lot. These are radio and microwave towers. Most or all radio and TV stations in Albuquerque have a tower up here on the crest since this is the highest point that will easily transmit for many miles.

This photo was taken with a 70mm lens to get an overview of what could be seen west of Sandia Crest. If you have enlarged the photo you can see downtown ABQ in the center.
Here is a shot taken at 300mm. Now you can definitely see downtown Albuquerque.

This is viewing the Rio Grande River on the north end of ABQ, better known as Los Ranchos de Albuquerque on this side (east side) of the river and Paradise Hills and Corrales on the west side of the river.

This shot was taken at 300mm, giving you a closer view of Paradise Hills on the west side of the river.

In the distance is Mount Taylor, the highest peak of the San Mateo mountains. This is about 80 miles west as the crow flies and reaching over 11,000 feet in elevation. Click on the link to learn more about this mountain which is considered sacred by the Navajos.

Here is another link to follow, giving you more detail and history about Mt. Taylor.

This is what I saw when looking east from Sandia Crest. The mountain in the foreground is called South Mountain. The flat area between South Mountain and the next mountain ridge is a couple of 7,000 ft high mesas. To the north it's called Wildhorse Mesa and to the south it's called El Cuevo Butte. And the mountain ridge in the distance is the southernmost end of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

In the foreground beyond the trees there is a ridge named Monte Largo, and that is South Mountain behind it.

Here is another view of Albuquerque, the Duke City.

My next post will be photos of the birds I saw at the crest and just below the crest. Stay tuned!