Last weekend Bosque Bill and I drove to the Sandia Mountains in another attempt to see the elusive Three-toed Woodpecker. Our previous attempt had yielded a rainy walk, a few wet warblers, some soggy squirrels, lots of hummingbirds but no Three-toed Woodpeckers.
We drove to the parking lot at the Ellis trailhead. Bosque Bill spotted the Three-toed Woodpecker near the parking lot before I could even get my camera out of the car. The light was far from ideal for photos, but I was able to get some photos that clearly show the identifying marks of this elusive woodpecker.
Three-toed Woodpecker
These woodpeckers flake bark rather than excavating wood, which results in large patches of flaked bark on trees.
Three-toed Woodpecker flaking bark from a fir tree
Three-toed Woodpecker
After taking many photos of the woodpecker we walked up the trail to Kiwanis Cabin. The Sandias, particularly Kiwanis Meadow, were covered in wildflowers. It was a beautiful walk. The views across Albuquerque from Kiwanis Cabin are spectacular!
We had a successful day as we saw not only the Three-toed Woodpecker but also towhees, warblers, flycatchers, hummingbirds, nuthatches, ravens and other birds. It began to rain just as we were finishing our lovely post-birding picnic. It was a wonderful birding day.
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