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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hamhed" data-source="post: 3346519" data-attributes="member: 70825">Enjoying our walk and trying not to think of reports of a potentially disrupting winter storm “Goliath”, we backtracked through town and started up Rt. 152, a mountain pass of a road, closed to traffic due to ice at 8000 foot elevations.   Bird life was nearly non-existent but we did have fine views of the late morning sun on distant snow-crowned mountains.  A mile west and a few hundred feet up, we decided to return for lunch and go back to north Percha Road for further exploration.And so that afternoon, skies still blue with no hint of any troublesome weather, we found ourselves driving about four miles into the hills directly worth of Kingston to an elevation just over 6800 feet before we found ourselves descending towards Mineral Creek.  At that point, well into Gila National Forest, the road was beginning to deteriorate beyond our comfort in the rental sedan.  We reluctantly turned back, explorer’s fever overcome by the low clearance of our vehicle, stopping occasionally at any hint of bird life.  The usual Northern Flickers and Scrub Jays passed over or called and, of course, the always interesting variety of Junco subspecies was always underfoot.  The two small farm ponds again held a few water birds.  Fortunately, I snapped a photo of the uppermost pond, which, besides a single Green-winged Teal, had a half dozen Mallards.  Three of the Mallards did not have the typical dark spot in the bill in the center of their orange bill.  These were likely a Mexican form of the common Mallard or a cross between the two.  At the junction with Rt. 152 again, we stopped to watch a dozen or more of Bluebirds hunting from the low trees and power lines.  Nice lighting from the western sun gave us plenty of time to study both Eastern and Western species.   One final bird that flew in at that point was arguably the least common - a Yellow-bellied sapsucker.  Shown as rare in Sibley’s western guide for western New Mexico, it was a familiar species for us, especially as a winter yard bird.  This bird was a male with red feathering in all the right places.  Later, we were told by our New Mexico contacts that this species has been extending it’s winter range.  I have since read there is the possibility, like the Mallards, of hybridization with the Red-naped Sapsucker.  The bird moved on and we did too.At the lodge, Catherine and Gary unexpectedly made Christmas dinner for not only us but for another dozen guests.  We could not help then but have a pleasant evening, full of good food, warm and readying for tomorrow’s Christmas Bird Count.Kingston:<a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26445254" target="_blank">http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26445254</a>Percha Road:<a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26453388" target="_blank">http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26453388</a></blockquote>

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