Friday, March 22, 2013

Some of the City of Rocks birds we've seen


I've been lucky to see another Roadrunner - this one was over in the electric site area.  I didn't have my camera and had to run to get it, but still got some nice shots:




I saw this House Sparrow  Canyon Towhee (thanks Hazel!) while filling my water tank in the park.  A few of them came up to drink the water:


Flying off.

Lots of Grey-Headed Juncos here, very pretty birds:



And, of course, Gambel's Quail, which seem to be everywhere in the desert areas I've visited:


And finally, the Ravens.  I love watching these birds soaring in the winds here.  Two Ravens are building a nest across the street from my site, and when they leave the nest they fly toward The Palms, swoop down in the winds, and then raise up to fly over the large rock next to The Palms, and then turn and head west.  It is so cool watching them.  I went outside when one was coming my way, and he flew low right over my head.  They sure look bigger that close.  As he was flying right over me, he was scratching his head with one of his feet.

I've gotten some shots of them in the nest they are building, and in the desert collecting materials for the nest.  The coloring of the rocks varies in these photos.  I took them at various times during the day when the sun and shade were hitting the nest differently, so I had to play with the lightening, brightening, contrast, etc., to show more of the detail in some of the photos.  The rocks aren't grey, they are different variations of brown.

The nest is deeper than it appears.  The two birds had plenty of room to move around inside.

Arranging the nesting materials.


Collecting sticks and twigs.
 
More arranging.

I noticed the bird on the right would touch the beak of the other when it flew into the nest.

Flying back to the nest with more nesting materials.

Raven flying toward the rocks.

Hazel and I took a ride around the park yesterday looking for wildlife and she spotted two more nests in holes in the large rocks.  I think they are also Raven's nests; it looks like they start with sticks and I'd guess they weave the softer materials through and on top of that base to hold it together.



In the next post I'll show you more of the camp sites here - they are all so different and unusual.

From me and Katie, have a great Friday, everyone!  :)

9 comments:

  1. Isn't nature fascinating when you have the time and interest to watch it unfold? What better way to spend one's time?

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  2. Nice photos. I still want to see a Roadrunner!

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  3. I love your photo of the bird in flight. When we camp host I put out a small terracotta plate with water, and the birds and squirrels flock around it and drink all the time. I love helping them out while I can.

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  4. yes... the sparrow taking off! great pictures ... City of Rocks... I guess I missed it. too bad, rocks interest me more than the sand. How they got where they are and the life surrounding them...

    Those gorgeous red rocks in Sedona, Arizona just blew me away.

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  5. What a great spot for nests. I just love bird watching, they each have personalities (we own 3 pair of binoculars for wildlife viewing)

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  6. Nice shots today. I just love watching the birds. I'm saving my dollars to by a better lens for my camera. I am still waiting to see a road runner!

    Hugs to Katie!

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  7. Nice! So much fun to watch the birds build their homes.

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  8. Thamks for posting about this campground. Its on my list for places to visit when I return next year. It looks so very peaceful. The birds are beautiful as well!

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  9. Catching up with blog reading and see that you're at City of Rocks. Where are you heading next? We should be at Rockhound SP around the 2nd week of March. Maybe we'll see you there?

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