Albuquerque Innsights

When I first moved into our present Albuquerque home 28 years ago I brought with me a love of birds and birdwatching that I got from my mom. She used to rescue hurt or orphaned birds, rehab them and then release them. We always had a bird feeder right outside the kitchen window and she taught me who was who in the bird world. That was a long time ago in a different land, (New Jersey). Birding in Albuquerque is very different.

Our neighborhood here in Albuquerque has a more than fair variety of feathered creatures, and with a irrigation ditch fifty feet behind our house and an orchard of various fruits next door our yard was prime for birdwatching. We put up feeders and got binoculars. At this time, (in the mid to late 1980s), the only dove you ever saw in this neighborhood was the Mourning Dove, and there were lots of them. My husband can call them in with this whistle he does with his hands, and he’s really good at it. That is, when we had Mourning Doves.

Some time around 1999-2001 we began seeing White-winged Doves in the winter time. They were usually seen year round in the southern part of New Mexico, and since there is a hunting season for them down there we used to kid around that these winter doves were just scouts looking for a new locale where there was no hunting. I think we may have been right. After a few seasons of winter visits the White-winged doves stayed. There were only a few at first, and now on same days the feeder has become Hitchcock-esque. And they told their cousins too, I’m sure of it.

Enter the Eurasian Collared Dove. At first we only saw one at the feeder, and it was hanging with the White-wings. After a while I was sure they were mixing it up a bit too, (not that there’s anything wrong with that), and I am nearly positive we are seeing hybrids along with a whole lot of the real McCoys.

Whatever the reason, we hadn’t seen Mourning Doves much after the bigger doves showed up. The Mourning Doves are not as aggressive at the feeder, but we are seeing and hearing more of them this season. I hope they stay. And I wish the Eurasians and White-wings would find another hangout, because they are really BIG poopers and we’re tired of them “decorating” our yard.

The Mourning Doves here are a little darker tawny grey-brown color than the other two, and have a pointed tail. There are dark spots on back of wings, and sometimes a tear shaped mark well below their eyes under their cheeks is visable. You can hear low, quick whistle sound when they fly off, and this sound is made from their wings, not their vocal chords.

The White-winged Doves are a heftier bird, have the white showing on the shoulder of their wings.  They have a tear-shaped dark mark under the cheeks. Their tail is more squared off, not pointed at all. They coo in a different cadence that the Mourning Doves, and it’s not as pretty to me. They also make a cawing sound like a stereotypical crow sound, but not as loud.

The Eurasian Collared Dove cousins are definitely an introduced species to the Americas, and their numbers are growing. They are usually paler in color than the other two, but with all the fraternization going on in this neighborhood, you see some darker ones sometimes. They have a distinctive dark collar that goes almost all the way around the neck sometimes, not quite meeting in the front. Tail is not pointed.

What kind of doves do you have in your neck of the woods? Or city? Our bed and breakfast, Adobe Nido in Albuquerque, is just 2.5 miles from Downtown and Old Town, yet we’ve got birds, and lots of them! We’re also just over 2 miles east of the fabulous Rio Grande Nature Center, where the birdwatching in Albuquerque is GRANDE!

I know the best things to do in Albuquerque!
Sarah Dolk, Adobe Nido Bed & Breakfast
Expert on Destination Albuquerque and Central New Mexico!

This morning a roadrunner came into the yard. Not so unusual, especially since we have had a few pairs in this end of the neighborhood for quite a few years. But this time we got to witness them at their best… mating season.! They get a little amorous this time of year.

This Roadrunner was lured in by the sound of running water in our courtyard. Having the sound of running water in your yard will bring in just about any wildlife, including the creatures of the night – skunks and racoons. We’ll suffer any of these evils to see the birds bath, though. It is a hoot!

The Roadrunner took a very clumsy bath, jumped onto the roof of Adobe Nido’s Guesthouse and started calling. Lo and behold, a suitor showed up and called back from the frontyard. The bather hopped into the front courtyard’s catalpa tree, crouched down and looking much like a dinosaur stalking prey, with mouth open and ready to pounce. She called again.

The suitor was bearing a gift! In its mouth was a Juniper berry. I didn’t think they ate juniper berries, especially a dried out leftover from last season, but apparently this was an appropriate gift because the bather came down from the tree to great her the suitor. They make a “woo, woo” sound at this time of year, their mating call. The call isn’t unlike a dove, but is less pretty and more like a person simply saying the word, “who”.  Then the dogs heard them, saw them, raised a racket and the Roadrunner were gone. I wouldn’t have stuck around either. That barking is not very amorous.

I had fetched my camera at this point, but they took off before I could snap a shot. Be sure to click the top photo and read about Roadrunners. They are fascinating to watch.

These Roadrunners can be quite oblivious to what’s happening around them when they are courting, but the chihuahuas were a bit to much. But a few years ago they carried on this ritual right in front of my husband and a neighbor while they were chatting it up in at the fence. Two mated pairs live in this awful looking lot across the street. The lot is an eye sore to us, but we ARE grateful for the wildlife that lives there, including the roadrunners.

I hope these two hang for a few days so our guests can see them.  We have great roadrunner stories to share with them. The hunting and eating stories are not suitable for young ears though. They are raptors, after all.

I know the best things to do in Albuquerque!
Sarah Dolk, Adobe Nido Bed & Breakfast
Expert on Destination Albuquerque and Central New Mexico!