I love New England in the Winter.

The crisp air brings birds out that we don't normally get in warmer months, and keeping the feeders well stocked helps as well.

Nothing I've photographed here took me far from my car-- some are from the driveway and some are from driving around in New Hampshire. Given that the temperatures around here have dropped into the negatives frequently in the last month, it's good not to be walking very far.

I love Vermont. It's one of my favorite places in New England. It's even one of my favorite places in the country. But there are other places with colors and patterns we pretty much never see here and from time to time it's worth a visit.

New Mexico is one such place, and specifically Bosque Del Apache.

Thumbnails pointing to larger pics:

We found this bird on Thursday, September 23rd, at Parker River Wildlife Refuge's Hellcat boardwalk, a little past 8:30 am. It was still in the same location (though moved to a different branch) when I went back in the afternoon. I rarely get looks this good at a life bird.

See the shell in this gull's mouth?

See below for what it does with it.