While I was in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge this past December, much to my surprise it snowed! Because of the 9 plus inches of snow the Wildlife Refuge was closed for several days. I wandered around the visitor center in the snow with my Canon 5D Mark II and my 70-200 lens and found this beautiful bird! I had no idea what kind of bird I had ‘discovered’, being from the eastern part of the USA I had never seen this bird before. After looking in the Bird book, I learned that it is a Male Pyrrhuloxia and evidently fairly common in the desert. Now can anyone please tell me what that flowering plant is that this beautiful bird is eating?
I am grateful for the snow because otherwise I’m sure I would not have seen or photographed this gorgeous bird because I did not spend much time outside the visitor center. All the “action” was inside the refuge. Lesson learned!!