https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-04-29 https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/santa-fe-in-spring monthly 0.5 2026-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/7a9ea705-38f3-41cd-ad3f-76c6f4add8f7/860850F3-347A-46F2-8C39-F5599D767D82.JPG Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out The Randall Davey Audubon Center https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/e44ef115-20a7-4ab2-8a8e-6eea87a89141/_4250312.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out This drab gray coloration is shared by a few of the pinyon / juniper specialists (Gray Vireo, Gray Flycatcher, and also some more generalist birds like Bushtits who live in this habitat). Juniper Titmouse is by far the best singer of the bunch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777300980484-TPQYAIXUXNL6PANONSC1/82D62A7B-6264-4DFF-81D3-D756882D4101.JPG Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777301277103-2RZG5N53QV8J9VB8GMHU/IMG_7684.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777301284322-E233CQ0BY2GVO1V0TF4T/IMG_7693.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425712848-7IWV773V50IFEZ7NAIJE/IMG_7696.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/e0d90419-af8c-42ef-8852-36c11692fe33/_4250268.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out We had luck on our side as this Grace’s Warbler plopped down onto this low branch of a ponderosa pine just a few yards off the trail! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/965c7bab-392f-48b8-8c66-3dc8e0e209d5/_4250245.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out We got to observe it at close range as it sang its heart out. Even though we would hear this song throughout the rest of our hike, this was the only bird we saw of about 10 we reported. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/d4e15961-3d19-4142-bb4e-984b6ac55d51/_4250234.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out We even watched it preen away that pesky stray feather on its left flank https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6f89a450-e640-40c1-ab69-46b21e62c605/_4250301.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out What a stunner! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425904457-TP0IBBAZVFPGN2GWGZO7/_4250286.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777419331433-PX0PJNX16FPQHJNJV3OU/IMG_7703.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777419330905-K6EC5G4EJOSQKXIW5YG1/IMG_7713+2.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777419336852-11JB1VCWM3JOWNSQTO92/IMG_7710.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777420065960-XELZJBGBTJ7GXH1BVH8N/IMG_7722.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777420429511-WSDH203FJQOIT5D858HZ/_4260363-4.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777420156416-RJ9KL58CWOSOBRCLH8G2/_4260381.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777420066178-9SYG7ID2B4G3GG1ZV2EZ/IMG_7727.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6ed3e880-a5f0-4897-af2d-9dfb4d789e64/_4260472.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out This Red-breasted Nuthatch was a fun highlight. On both days we had nuthatch ‘grand slams’ (observing all 3 nuthatch species: White-breasted, Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches). They are all rather vocal and seem to defy gravity the way they move around tree trunks and branches. The Red-breasted Nuthatch has the most nasal call of the bunch: a nasal knaa knaa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/4135e270-2a52-4fa4-a948-fac427e56b9a/IMG_7733.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out Along the trail we saw and heard many woodpecker species and signs of woodpecker activity. We are not sure who excavated these holes but they were huge! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/39a18e9a-310c-4134-a0ad-8fa161fa409e/_4260420-2.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out Perhaps THE stand-out bird on our hike was this American Three-toed Woodpecker. We found it excavating a nest cavity which made for a neat and extended observation. These birds primarily live in the spruce forests of Canada, but they also come down into the Rocky Mountains at higher elevations where there are similar forests. We don’t see a ton of these birds - usually only seasonally when we can get into the higher elevation habitats. It is the only woodpecker in the Four Corners where male has a yellow crown - the males of most other woodpecker species have a red crown. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/fa024351-31d9-4d4f-886c-a74ce8456b33/_4260383-3.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out In this photo you can see that this woodpecker indeed has three toes on each foot. Most woodpeckers have four toes - two pointed forward and two backward! Woodpeckers also use their stiff tail feathers for support against trees. I think that must be especially true for these guys with all their toes pointing the same direction. I tried to read more about their unusual toe arrangement but it appears we don’t fully understand why this species and its close relative the Black-backed Woodpecker only have three toes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/2d59c99a-d475-4910-b049-654e93fc99ed/_4261262.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out It was cool to see this guy working on his nest hole. There were so many birds along the trail, we did not make it very far! After about an hour and a half we turned around, having only made it a few miles of the 5 mile loop. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425044148-2UBSPQHO1CEJGSEWOTPL/IMG_7743.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425043619-XAKXGN6OJ2EPK0XN11IX/IMG_7754.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425047019-CQA1HEVO49ZA59CL5Z88/IMG_7755.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425146899-10YEUVR379JOIQSLAUD9/IMG_7757.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/talking-birding-and-the-durango-bird-club-on-kdur-durango monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/bc9d9c9e-cbb2-48f2-aa82-09e1f9bf59e0/DB07CC19-59D8-4331-9A90-EE777DA86C4F.JPG Blog - Talking Birding and the Durango Bird Club on Common Air - Make it stand out Lisa and I in the recording studio in the Media Center at Fort Lewis College https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/monte-vista-crane-festival monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/309a4df5-e50c-4bc4-9762-e3273a2808e4/P1200185.jpg Blog - 2026 Monte Vista Crane Festival - Make it stand out One of my first photographs of Sandhill Cranes from our January 2020 trip to Bosque del Apache https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/30f75a45-0ef4-4637-8a7a-f6dd10e6b3a7/_3071610-2.jpg Blog - 2026 Monte Vista Crane Festival - Make it stand out Sandhill Cranes dancing, bugling, and flying with the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background - a great representation of the whole experience https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/62d17b84-b07c-4dec-88eb-a130c9b00c00/_3071591-2.jpg Blog - 2026 Monte Vista Crane Festival - Make it stand out This ended up being my favorite image of the trip: Sandhill Cranes form a new peak on the skyline of the Blanca Massif https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6edc885b-186e-4feb-b680-86ea231320d4/_3071509-2.jpg Blog - 2026 Monte Vista Crane Festival - Make it stand out And finally, the picture I had in mind all along: Sandhill Cranes fly against the Sangre de Cristo mountains covered in snow https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/chicago-the-gull-frolic monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/a2c94c6c-5943-422c-9b38-d67cb97d209f/P2250394.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out One of the more interesting assortments of gulls we have had at Farmington Lake. February 2023 this first winter Glaucous Gull (the big white one) in center was the star of the show - a rare visitor from the far North. Also present are California Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls and the very dark birds center-left, Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The second bird from the left facing left with the black bill and ‘checkerboard’ pattern on its back is a first winter bird - I think a Lesser Black-backed Gull. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/c47ee73c-7444-4062-acdc-cc83bd7d0ff8/_1310288-2.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out My 2025 winter documentation shot of the '“Calico Gull” at Farmington Lake - this unique bird is famous, making an appearance in the “Aberrations” section of the Gull Guide. Photographs of what is almost certainly the same bird date back to 2013 or so as far away as Nova Scotia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/a6420e7f-bb4a-4e28-b199-788f87ca47a7/_2151380.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out Emilee loved the Snowy Owl so much she got a stuffed animal Snowy Owl as a memento https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774231773834-Z5JVP8HTMR8FZ03RWK5A/IMG_5768.jpeg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774231790263-SVOVKGNXWXVBY6P8VDU8/AC2966A9-E328-4629-B636-CEE6D8FFABBC.jpeg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774231793469-7FU5QOVIY85FFT12PIHW/32DAB086-1BDF-4A19-9560-DD05D00F55DC.jpeg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774231773786-PZ8YY4AGPYNV0BO6EC7K/10047704-5841-40DB-B628-63092D4B263E.jpeg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3abb4f5c-336d-4149-8a5c-cc23fe496d5c/_2151230.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out One of my better comparison photos from the frolic: the left bird is a ‘white winger’ - an Iceland Gull. The limited black in the wingtip (the white wing) is a trait that the spotters could pick out in a large mixed flock of gulls whirling around. The Herring Gull on the right has more individual primary feathers with black tips, and the black is a true black. Iceland gull’s dark tips vary in darkness from white to dark gray depending on which subspecies it belongs to. This one I believe was in the range for Kumlien’s type, which reportedly breeds in North Atlantic Canada. We had never seen this type before so it was very cool to study them at fairly close range (and it was unbelievably helpful to have the spotters call out their location within the whirling gull flock: “flying left, banking, flying away…) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/71d04703-4717-44a8-9144-5cf68dae799b/_2151270.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out Another Kumlien’s type Iceland gull shot - very limited dark tips. And look at those bubblegum pink legs! One interesting thing was that the adult Iceland gulls we saw overwhemingly had light eyes. Thayer’s type, which we see one or two of each winter, more commonly have dark eyes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/7a951fe9-2284-4bfe-8148-b9d5f7b440e5/_2151298.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out One more Kumlien’s Iceland Gull for good measure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774234016440-S1OJF6DGUXITP878RRNJ/_2140516.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774234060215-AERAX9K28O4O5OYHMCU9/_2151330-2.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774235127772-IYGR463DUMQ6SF996F1Q/_2141026.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774235123854-7SQS9L96CMFVZ2B12ZR2/_2140738.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/708ba63c-6c7a-4583-94e3-43c02b7f61af/_2140841.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out Look at those talons! You can see here this bird is a banded bird. I reported it to the Bird Banding database and hope to learn more about it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/2d7cff3d-7990-478b-ad0c-fc15704a5776/_2140969.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out Majestic! https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/thanksgiving-in-the-chiricahuas monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/76593d4e-b644-42e1-8b33-fc05e8e02e85/5063F865-21B1-4A24-8F77-95287DCEFFD4.jpeg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out Our view as we arrived into Cave Creek Canyon in the evening- known as the “most scenic canyon in Arizona”, or “Arizona’s Yosemite”. Spectacular! My cameras were buried in the trunk, so this shot was taken with my cell phone https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774194012338-AX14AM94XWRXH71KXP1T/39C3811F-07C9-4215-9189-A69DB2CD9088.jpeg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774194015879-4YBJ3JOEDKLAWP8FN5RA/DDAD8DDA-A7B9-4A9B-9A48-70D80590C3A1.jpeg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/b389b94d-e988-410e-99c0-176eb46dd17c/PB260601-2.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out It was cold in the deep, shady, North-facing canyon! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195005202-INBBRWBZWHK00POA4LAE/PB260593.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195005729-3QT7BGTS1DAT8VYZM3FC/PB270589-2.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195008560-2DMOASQZFAQ43AVGCORU/PB270591-3.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195008957-3UMVW28FVSVGWNPLH5SL/PB270594-2.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/0bd2d21d-205b-4ce1-b29a-183a6e156e63/PB270492-Enhanced-NR.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out One of my favorite Arizona specialty birds - the Bridled Titmouse https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195954224-XP2MBNHYQASWFVCTEGCG/PB280700.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195954791-BXW6FQ4C68E07H2G0KES/_B280712.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/d5d81376-0be9-4a3e-8557-88d1abaf1adb/PB280678.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out The Coatimundi, a relative of the raccoon, is another beautiful and charismatic animal living in the Sky Islands. This one had a pretty good thing going making early morning visits to the feeder setup at Cave Creek Ranch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3af0fbe0-278c-4263-9439-1ce64be19c24/PB270599.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out Mexican Chickadee with a view of its extensive black throat - the main field mark for distinguishing it from Black-capped Chickadee https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774197804017-5FQ9KGFL0U1SXLDIC6Y8/PB280652.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774197801305-4TEC3AA3MOA2EUAZNUJP/PB280637.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774197800918-VBMON3BJ7870N9D9CA6E/PB280635.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774198369927-WZU2Y0FUD0C527JWKASR/_B290813.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774198398935-1XFAQJIKKZYGPL5I4EQR/PB290659.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://www.stephentarnowski.com/home daily 1.0 2026-04-12 https://www.stephentarnowski.com/about daily 0.75 2026-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/2813d463-d40b-4d5e-b995-15c6150662bd/P5190237.jpg https://www.stephentarnowski.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/b5fd09b1-2923-4aa9-916c-fe610cc49820/PB260601.jpg