Birding

Weird contrails

Becca and I didn't exactly go birding this morning; in fact, I'm really not much of a birder although I appreciate seeing the beautiful critters out and about in the desert.  Sometimes when I try to ID them after uploading images of the avian denizens of our desert I almost end up pulling my hair out.  Between the books I own with color plates of the winged buggers and internet photos from the Cornell Lab or Audubon my head is spinning.  Why don't these birds carry identification badges so there's no doubt about who they are?

Cactus garden in the high foothills

The lone yucca

Thick growth of Ocotillo

Jet over the Organs

Heading west on an old dirt road

Tortugas Mountains and the Organs from a distance

Yuccas growing in an arroyo

Soaptree Yuccas

Rufous-crowned Sparrow?

Soaptree Yucca

Three's company

The longer I try to ID these birds the more confused I get

Is this even a Sparrow?

Arroyo west of Tortugas

Becca taking a break in the arroyo

Just another arroyo photo

Alert even while on break

You can tell the runoff was heavy in this arroyo

Some of the flora in the arroyo

Out of the arroyo away from the mountains

Bushwhacking

Out quite a ways

Expert bushwhacker

Missile test (squiggly contrail) from White Sands Missile Range

Red-tailed Hawk in a yucca

Red-tailed Hawk looking for breakfast

Red-tailed Hawk taking off