2 days in Albuquerque - PM Monday 28 February

Our last destination on Monday was the Rio Grande Nature Centre in Albuquerque itself. This is where last Spring I photographed a Greater Roadrunner. Suffice to say, despite a lengthy walk around, we didn't find one. And I quote: 'you promised me a Roadrunner'!

We did locate a Hooded Merganser, a funky looking duck:



We stopped a local and asked where we might best locate said Roadrunner. He said 'well, there's one that lives around the car park'. So we dutifully headed back to the car park, and guess what, as we approached the car, I spotted a Greater Roadrunner foraging in the central reservation:

FANTASTIC bird! Properly made the day, splendid to watch. As we left and headed back to our hotel we passed another not thirty yards away. It's remarkable how an encounter like this can affect you. We showed the bird to a number of other visitors, including locals who'd never seen one. A shared and very positive natural experience and one I hope is repeated. Everything was going really well until the photo deletion disaster, but all's well that ends well!