Ducks on Ice

A pair of ducks perch on ice in a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, south of Socorro.

Snow Geese Flyover

A flyover: when hundreds of snow geese all of a sudden rise up into the air and fly over you in a dense cloud. The sound is amazing — a mix of cacophonous squawks and the whoosh-whoosh of flapping wings — and a flyover always brings me to my knees. One of the most awe-inspiring experiences I’ve ever had.

Turkey Vulture

A turkey vulture suns itself in the Rio Grande Bosque.

Roadrunner

Right in the middle of Albuquerque (within ¼ mile of the Big I). This is the roadrunner who I often see … um … running across Indian School Road. Which is exactly what he did as soon as he noticed me taking his portrait.

Madonna and Pigeon

This carving of the Virgin of Guadalupe is in a cottonwood tree behind the San Felipe de Neri church in Albuquerque’s Old Town. I was told that the carving was originally done by a veteran returned from the Korean War — that he made the carving in thanks for his safe return from the war.