2022: Year-In-Review

January

We spent the last few weeks of last year planning a lot of trips for this year.  By the time January arrived, we were ready to get going!

We were out and about every week birding close to our home. 

Mark had been talking about a trip to New Mexico to see three species of Rosy-Finches that we have never seen.  There is a special place called Sandia Crest house where all three can be found.  We kept checking e-bird and finally there were reports of the finches arriving. 

We didn’t take the RV for this trip but instead stayed in hotels.

We only saw one of the finches, but we had a great trip and saw plenty of snow and other birds.

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch

February

On February 3^rd we got a little snow at our house. 

 

We were supposed to travel to Colombia two years ago, right before covid.  The trip had been re-scheduled three times, but we finally made it there in mid-February.

It was our first trip to Colombia.  We had a wonderful time.

We finished the Colombia photo wall:

March

March was a pretty quiet month for us. We spent many mornings birding our local hot spots.

The first day of Spring we were headed to South Llano State Park for our first outing of the year with our RV. 

I had 10 afghans to donate to Project Linus. 

          

I discovered the world of amigurumi (Japanese word meaning “small knitted or crocheted stuffed toys”).

          

April

We took the trailer down to Goose Island State Park and enjoyed several days of very windy birding.  As usual, the food was wonderful!

Later that month a severe hailstorm had us getting estimates for a new roof. 

 

May

Having a new roof installed due to last month’s hailstorm derailed most of our plans for Mark’s birthday this year. 

We did get to the Frio Bat Cave for the flight out (a repeat of last year). But we had to be home that same evening to meet the roofers the next day. 

I had seven afghans to take to Project Linus. 

June

We had been wanting to get up to Michigan for several years and this month was a great time to visit.

We had a wonderful time and hope to get back again. 

Kirtland's Warbler 

Pileated Woodpecker

July

For my birthday this year we went to Alaska. The trip didn't quite turn out as planned. 

Peak tourist season, warm weather, very little wildlife, heavy smoke from over 400 wildfires, and the grand finale – COVID. But we did get to see Denali several times, so...

Denali

August

We didn't take any trips this month. Most mornings we went birding around our favorite spots close to home.  We did manage to get the kayaks out a couple of times.

September

We took our first trip to Peru this month.  We got busy when we arrived back home and never did blog it.

We saw some great birds, including the unique Hoatzin, considered one of the most primitive of bird species. 

Hoatzin

Just a sampling of other beautiful birds are the White-throated Toucan and Rufous-crested Coquette (a tiny hummingbird). 

White-throated Toucan

Rufous-crested Coquette - male

We also saw a great variety of mammals, including these Black-capped Squirrel Monkeys next to a Tufted Capuchin (grumpy monkey!). 

October

The weather started getting cooler in October so we headed out in the travel trailer.  We went to S. Llano River State Park for a few days.

The park has four different birding blinds with feeders and water features, so we always see some good birds. 

Ladder-backed Woodpecker male

I finished 11 afghans and had fun making a few more amigarumi's.

 

               

November

Our November trip was out to Davis Mountains State Park.

Our site.

We visited some favorite birding spots like the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Gardens where we watched a Cactus Wren building a nest in Cholla Cactus, but we also explored a couple of new areas. 

Cactus Wren nestbuilding

One new area was called Sandia Wetlands and was great for shorebirds. Another was the seldom visited "Primitive Area" of Davis Mountains State Park, which is located on the north side of State Highway 118.

Kildeer

December

We finished off the year with a trip to Goose Island State Park.  The weather turned very cold with a predicted low of 22 in the park and 11 at home so we left Goose a couple of days early.

We saw plenty of birds, including the stars of the area, the endangered Whooping Cranes. This is an adult pair with their colt, which is the term for juvenile cranes. 

I bought my last magnet of the year.