I found this Prairie Falcon perched on a utility pole along H80 north of Rodeo, N.M. I took these photos from inside my car and I'm pleased to report that when I left the falcon was still on it's perch (my goal is to not flush raptors from their perches). Prairie Falcons appear fairly rare at this time of year in this area per ebird and Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona. SeEtta
Spotted Sandpiper Chicks, 3 more days older
Two days when I went to check on the Spotted Sandpiper family at Florence River Park I thought they had likely perished--there were two men engaged in gold panning right where the parent sandpiper had been and they had dug some of the sand from the bank where I last saw the sandpiper chicks. Arggh, I was afraid that all this activity, plus a large off leash dog with these people, would have scared the parent away and even if the chicks were successful in hiding in the vegetation they would not survive without a parent at their young age. What a surprise when I returned that evening for one last check to be accosted by the parent sandpiper calling loudly and challenging me by walking right towards me (and my dog). It took awhile for the parent to settle down and for one of the chicks to walk in some grass where I could spot it--the parent had moved the chicks about 150 from the river into an area with a lot of vegetation. I returned day before yesterday and refound the parent and
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