Missing the Rosy-Finches at Sandia Crest

Many birders were disappointed this past winter when the Sandia Crest House, located atop the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico, closed its doors. As related in Seeking our Signature Species, we started a bird feeding program there back in 1999. It attracted all three North American rosy-finch species. Each of the species (and the distinctive Hepburn's subspecies of the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch) breed in separate ranges, often on mountaintops. 

Sandia Crest, just east of Albuquerque, is the only easily accessible site at which they all may be seen together. In September, the Crest House Restaurant and Gift Shop reopened under new ownership and management, with plans to stay open all winter.

After visiting our son and his family in Canyon, Texas, we drove to Albuquerque on Monday (November 4), and spent two nights there. Before getting into town we stopped at Sandia Crest to meet the new Manager, Nick Harada. As we started up the 14 miles to the Crest, we noted that the temperature was 55 degrees (F) at the base of Crest Road (about 7,000 ft elevation). The skies were clear and there was little wind, a perfect day.

Our first stop along the road was at Doc Long Picnic Area, where we heard the warbled song and brief whistled calls of a Townsend's Solitaire. This drab member of the thrush family breeds on high mountains throughout western North America. Northernmost populations from Alaska and Canada migrate south into the US and to lower elevations, supplementing the numbers of local birds during the winter. 



On our way up we stopped at several pull-outs hoping to hear or see some birds such as crossbills or other winter finches. This is the view from 10K Trailhead, with smoke from a forest fire evident on the horizon to the north.



Up at the top, at an altitude of over 10,600 feet, the temperature was 32 degrees! There had only been a dusting of snow the previous week, and no snow cover, so it was not surprising to find that the rosy-finches had not yet arrived. Typically, they fly in with the first real snow storm, which was expected to hit that night and continue into the next day.  This is the entry to Sandia Crest House Gift Shop and Restaurant.



We were hungry after the 4 1/2 hour drive from Amarillo, so we had lunch at one of the tables next to the glass wall that overlooks the deck where the rosy-finches will soon visit the hanging feeder. We talked to the other workers and enjoyed Green Chile Cheeseburgers. The famous bowl of green chile is still on the menu. I feel confident that the staff will continue to be very birder-friendly, and I hope that visitors reciprocate by purchasing food and drinks as well as merchandise.

I created this 180 degree panoramic view of the interior of Crest House with my new iPhone. The kitchen is to the left and the west-facing deck is at the right. The two windows in the center background are on the east wall of the Gift Shop section of Crest House and they overlook a second feeder. It is easy to understand the popularity of this location, where birders can sit in comfort and tick off three new bird species that brave the harsh mountaintop winters.



The deck provides a marvelous view of the City of Albuquerque a mile below.



This is the southwest-facing view from the deck. Sandia Mountain courses away to the south (far left), and the Manzano Mountains are in the distance, behind the Manzanita foothills. These mountains are considered to be the southern extreme of the Rocky Mountain chain, all consisting of sedimentary rock uplifted by collision of tectonic plates. To the far right is  Mount Taylor (elevation 11,301 feet), the cone of an extinct volcano, 80 miles to the west, but visible on this clear day. 



The feeders had been put up a few days previously and were hosting Steller's Jays, both Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, juncos, a Downy Woodpecker, and Mountain Chickadees. 

Steller's Jay on the deck feeder:



Red-breasted Nuthatches flew in and quickly removed one seed at a time, retiring to the trees to either eat or hide them:



My photos were taken through the glass, so they are not of very good quality. This White-breasted Nuthatch seems to defy gravity as it strolls up the trunk of a tree.



The second feeder is positioned downhill, just to the southeast of the Crest House.



It is readily visible from the picture windows.



Although Nick had just started his job as Manager and had never before heard about the rosy-finches he was very interested in learning all he could about them and the other feeder birds. We reviewed pictures of the three rosy-finch species and the Hepburn's variant. 

That evening we had a very pleasant meeting and dinner with the Crest House owner, Andy Mayer. He has given a lot of thought as to how to make birders feel at home, and is supportive of the scientific and educational value of the banding program. The banding team is working out the details of how banding will be conducted. He  also plans to put up hummingbird feeders on the deck after the rosy-finches depart, which also should attract much interest from the general public. 

The weather indeed took a nasty turn the next day. When we set out at about 8:00 AM there was light rain and the temperature was 45 degrees in Albuquerque (5200 feet elevation). The Sandia Mountains were shrouded in clouds and the weather reports predicted that the snow that started there during the night would continue until around noon. We therefore decided to first visit Rio Grande Nature Center State Park in Albuquerque (more about that in a subsequent post). 

At about 11:00 AM we decided to venture up to Crest House for lunch. The sky was blue and the road was clear until we got near the ski area, at about 9,000 feet elevation. Clouds and blowing snow caused episodes of near white-out conditions. The road was snow-packed above Nine Mile Picnic Area, but we continued up in our rental Toyota Camry. At Crest House, the temperature was down to 24 degrees (F) with high winds. 



We could barely see the lower feeder from the picture window, and the hanging tray feeder on the deck was swinging wildly. The only birds we saw were Steller's Jays, White- and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Mountain Chickadees, ravens and a few juncos.  With those wonderful snow conditions we knew that the rosy-finches would be there on the heels of the storm. We were right! 

The next morning, at about the same time we were boarding the plane to return to Florida,  John and Thelma Dalmas of Nacogdoches, Tx saw 4 Black and 2 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches at the feeder. Later in the day, Alan Mickelson, feeder program coordinator, went up to fill the feeders and saw a single Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch.

I must dig into my archives to find one of my photos, this of a Black Rosy-Finch at the deck feeder:



From the window of our aircraft as we climbed over the Manzanos, we got our last view of Sandia Crest, poking up conspicuously in the distance.  It is nice that we at least have a pixelated photo of this season's rosy-finches. At this range, hundreds would fit into a single pixel! 

As soon as we arrived home I edited the Sandia Crest Birding FORUM and replaced this flag...

...with this one, announcing arrival of the finches!

Useful Links:

Directions to Sandia Crest House with notes about Health and Safety, Handicapped Access and birding in and around the Sandia Mountains

Sandia Crest House Restaurand and Gift Shop Web page (with menu)

Grand Canyon wildlife

We continued our twelve day multi-generational journey in a 31 foot RV from Sedona to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, an easy 120 mile drive that took less than three hours. Near the entrance to the National Park, our granddaughters were excited to see an Elk grazing along the road. 

After securing our rig in an ideal location at the north end of Grand Canyon Trailer Village, we wasted no time taking the ten minute walk to the Visitor Center at the very edge of the Canyon. The children wanted to see the IMax introductory film, but the projector was broken. We talked to a Park Ranger who told us that California Condors had been reported at Hopi Point, so we planned a visit for the next day. We lingered at the South Rim to observe sunset from nearby Mather Point. 



The ever-changing play of colors on the rocks to the east was beautiful, but the clear sky to the west plunged the foreground into shadow and lacked the interest that would have been provided by a few clouds. When the sun went down it was as if someone had simply turned off the lights.

In my haste to eliminate the large number of 25,000 KB RAW outtakes among those that had filled two 32 GB compact flash cards, I inadvertently deleted that day's only bird photos, of two Scrub Jays that posed in a dead tree near the Visitor Center.

The next morning I set out on my first walk in the woods adjacent to our RV. The first bird I saw bears a close resemblance to the Boat-tailed Grackle, a Florida species. It is a Great-tailed Grackle, feasting on a pine nut.

 

I walked a more few yards, passing a staff parking lot when I realized that a very large (12-point) bull Elk was staring me right in the face. A second smaller one was just behind him. I froze and snapped a few shots, then they both ignored me, moved along the edge of the lot and resumed browsing on tree branches. Soon, a third bull joined them.  





I continued down a dirt path through the mixed pinyon-juniper and Ponderosa Pine woodland, keeping an eye on the Elk who followed me erratically among the trees along the path. 



Our camp was at about 7000 feet elevation. Although nighttime temperatures had dropped into the high 30s (F), the sun was quickly warming me up, and I stood silently for a while in the shade of a thicket of Pinyon Pines. Suddenly, I was surrounded by the wheezy squeeze-toy calls of a flock of a dozen or more Pygmy Nuthatches.





The nuthatch calls seemed to attract a few hummingbirds. From the cricket-chirp sound of their wingbeats I could tell that one or more were Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. However I think this one represented the Black-chinned species.



An Ash-throated Flycatcher also responded to the commotion.



A harsh, strident call revealed the presence of a Steller's Jay.



The pattern of white stripes on the Steller Jay's head varies gradually, being more sharply defined in the eastern part of its range and absent from birds in the northwestern US.



Mountain Chickadees appeared, as if out of nowhere.



On the way back to the RV, I did not see the Elk again, but a Violet-green Swallow roosted in a tree just long enough for me to take its picture.



A shadow of a large bird passed overhead and I looked up casually, ready to dismiss it as a Turkey Vulture. But no-- it had a white band on its tail. It was a Zone-tailed Hawk, known for its ability to hide in a flock of Turkey Vultures, making it easier to surprise smaller birds, mammals and lizards that constitute its prey. 





Our granddaughter Graciela has already stolen my thunder by writing about what happened just a bit later that morning, so I will stop here! 

Seeing California Condors in the Grand Canyon

On the second morning of our stay in Grand Canyon Trailer Village, I did not need to stray far from the door of our RV to see some interesting wildlife.

A Western Bluebird posed for one of my favorite images of the trip.



A dripping faucet at an adjacent vacant RV parking space attracted birds and mammals, among them a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers.



These western Hairy Woodpeckers have very few white markings on their wings as compared to the eastern form. Their larger size, proportionally longer and heavier bill and lack of black markings on their outer tail feathers distinguish them from the similarly-plumaged Downy Woodpecker.



A Steller's Jay stopped for a drink.



The next morning a cow Elk visited the puddle and then paraded right in front of our RV.



A Black-throated Gray Warbler foraged in the Pinyon Pine that partially shaded our vehicle.





Nearby, a fledgling Western Bluebird begged to be fed.



The female parent responded.





Both parents rested on an overhead wire.



Lesser Goldfinches were common.  





Later that morning, armed with the long lens (100-400mm zoom) lent to me by my son-in-law, we boarded the free shuttle westward to join a second that took us along Hermit Road to Hopi Point, where we hoped to see California Condors.

At Hopi Point, we had a magnificent view of the formation known as Battleship Rock.



We then walked the trail along the rim westward to nearby Powell Point, where we met "Condor Bob" George and another researcher. Bob was busy answering questions about the huge birds, which are raising one chick in a cave on the west side of Battleship Rock.



The researcher is pointing a directional antenna towards the cave in the west-facing far end of Battleship Rock. He detected no signals, and said that the opposite side of the rock at El Tovar Hotel was where they usually spent the day. Both parents had brought food for the chick, so it was unlikely that they would show up again until nightfall.



The cave is visible in the lower left portion of this photo-- click on it to see a marker and also obtain enlarged views.



The next afternoon, expecting only landscape photos and also to save weight, I left the telephoto lens back at the RV as we went sightseeing on the shuttle bus to viewpoints along the eastern part of the National Park. We returned earlier than expected, and made an unplanned visit to the El Tovar Hotel overlook. As soon as I looked down I saw three California Condors far below. The light reflected from their wings as they soared along the east side of Battleship Rock. My only image, at a focal length of only 105mm, shows them as distant white specks. One is in the upper left corner and the other in the lower right. (Click on the image to highlight the location of two condors).



This was the best of several photos, cropped and highly enlarged, of the condor in lower right. The condor is flying towards the camera. Reddish light reflects from its bald head and a there is a highlight on its left wing due to reflection from the ID tag.



California Condor populations steadily decreased during the 20th Century due to loss of habitat, poaching and poisoning by lead in ammunition used in predator control and hunting. They disappeared from Arizona in 1924. They were listed as an endangered species in 1967. Their numbers continued to decline despite a captive breeding program, and in 1987 the 22 remaining condors were captured. 

"All hope for condor recovery was now placed on captive breeding programs, and the task was formidable. Because recruitment into the population is very low, captive breeding techniques were developed in which eggs are removed as they are laid, usually causing the captive condors to lay a second and sometimes third egg. The extra eggs are incubated and chicks are raised by caretakers using a hand puppet shaped like a parent condor head. The puppet prevents the young condors from imprinting on people. Condor chicks that are not raised by puppets, are raised by their parent birds..." (More at California Condor captive breeding programs)

"As of April 2013, 73 condors soar over northern Arizona and southern Utah. Many of them frequent Grand Canyon, especially during the summer. They come from all four captive breeding locations. But more importantly, a number of them come from wild nest caves in and around the Grand Canyon..." (More at
 http://www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/california-condors.htm#CP_JUMP_366045)