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Thursday, January 14, 2010 - Bosque Birdwatchers RV Park, San Antonio NM

 Vermilion Flycatcher, Percha Dam State Park, Arrey NM, January 12, 2010
Vermilion Flycatcher, Percha Dam State Park, Arrey NM, January 12, 2010

These colorful little Vermilion Flycatchers are quick to launch out from a perch to snatch an insect out of the air 40 or 50 feet away. This little guy let me snap away at him at work for the better part of an hour but my little Panasonic DMC-FZ28 at 18x wasn't really up to the task. One could easily lust after better equipment at times like these. I caught a few in flight shots that could have been spectacular with a better camera.

Night camp

Site 16 - Bosque Bird Watcher's RV Park, San Antonio NM

Crayfish Chimney

Late one afternoon I sat upon my camera case beside the path where it wound through the darkest part of the woods, down near the pond, and watched a crayfish building his "chimney," the land entrance to his underwater tunnel. He had just started to work above the ground when I first arrived. He came up through the moist black earth, carrying a ball of it between his two enormous fighting claws. Using the claws as hands, he spread the soil around the hole to form the base of the chimney. He then backed down the hole and after several minutes came up with another armful.

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