Gambel’s Quail are runners, very hard to photograph as they scurry through the brush. Here’s one almost obscured as it darted past me.

On the other hand, this Red-winged Blackbird was so intent on singing that he allowed me to walk right up to him.

The big brassy Cactus Wrens have been pretty obvious throughout most of the Southwest but it wasn’t until New Mexico that I got some good looks at their smaller cousins, Canyon Wrens.

One of my life birds this trip is the Sage Sparrow, who like some of the quail, likes to run from you. This one sat still for a photo.

And lastly, one of the neat birds of west Texas, southern Arizona and southern New Mexico is the handsome Black-throated Sparrow.