We headed out one morning to explore the west side of the river and found a noisy gang of sandhill cranes, enjoying the cold waters of the Rio Grande River. A small group of birdwatchers were standing nearby, one of whom was able to do multiple impressive birdcalls.

Roadrunner – we spotted this fellow at the end of our driveway, hopping around the rocks searching for food. He / she was completely unperturbed by the large humans on bicycles filming it, and scooted through the neighbor’s fence.

The roadrunners are all over the city. Here’s a little guy running around the University of New Mexico campus.

We spotted these on a bike ride, after taking a wrong turn. It was meant to be. Evidently Albuquerque is on the migration path for these cranes – they were out in large numbers, along with lots of geese.

January is migration time. There’s always a flock of squawking birds overhead, making their way from the sandbars and gravel piles in the river to the nearby ponds in the Rio Grande State Park and back again. Another group of cranes – impressively large and noisy as they cruise over the trees.

During a walk through Old Town, we spotted these guys fighting over some seeds in a tree, oblivious to the humans watching from below. Not exactly sure what they are – greenish, sparrow-sized, maybe towhees or warblers. They were energetic …

Waking up a week or so ago, we were thrilled to see snow falling, big flakes piling up on rooflines and yards. Given a Saturday with nothing else on the schedule, we of course had to get out and roam. Coffee first, then we headed up to the Rio Grande Nature Center for a snowy and quiet hike. Turning a corner towards the river, we spotted movement – turns out there was a decent-sized coyote, looking for something (maybe small pets) to devour. We were thankful our small(ish) pet was safe and warm at home. We criss-crossed paths with him a couple of times – he wasn’t bothered by us, following a game trail through the underbrush – the closest we got were some footprints across one of our trails. Bumping into another couple with an unleashed pup, we gave them a heads up which they appreciated.

We spotted this guy hard at work on the trails near the river. He continued to peck without acknowledging our presence. Looks like a hairy woodpecker, but we’re not even amateur birdwatchers …

There’s no shortage of wildlife in the area, great to run across new creatures and experience open natural areas for hiking and just relaxing. A nice change from the noise and jam of DFW.

One year plus a few months after we had officially relocated, we found ourselves in a new place across town. Near the foothills. Away from the traffic noise that had kept us up late during the first year.

One Saturday morning, a lazy human was rudely awakened by a “bang bang bang!” When the human investigated, they discovered a roadrunner on the back porch, smashing his beak (?) into the wood siding of the house.

It needs a name. Rudy, Rosa, Roger the Roadrunner. The lazy human imagined the story: “Roger the roadrunner who knocks at the backdoor….”

We were also introduced to the neighborhood dear when we moved to the other side of town. They run around in a pack of 8 or 9, hopping over fences, in an out of backyards like they own place.