Bouquet of Rosies: Rosy Finches of Sandia Crest

Brown-capped rosy finch.

Last week, Keith and I took a short trip to the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque, NM, to see our first rosy finches.  I'd read some time ago about rosies visiting feeders set up near the Crest House at Sandia Crest in the mountains of central New Mexico.  People rarely see rosy finches.  The colorful birds live at high altitudes, nesting in cliffs and talus slopes above mountain tree lines.  Because of this, they are among some of the least studied of North American birds.  In the winter, they migrate a short distance to lower elevations (still around 10,000 feet!), foraging for seeds and insects even among the snowfields.  They travel in flocks that may comprise a mixture of all four species:  black, gray-crowned, brown-capped and a race called Hepburn's.



It took us seven hours and 453 miles to drive from our home in Corona de Tucson, Arizona to the entrance of Sandia Crest road.  We stayed in a nearby bed and breakfast in Cedar Crest, NM.  Elaine's Bed and Breakfast, by the way, is a wonderful place to get warm, enjoy delightful company, and relax with all the comforts of home.

A bouquet of rosy finches takes flight.

We were excited about seeing the birds, which show up around December and remain around Sandia Crest through mid-March.  Disappointingly, the Crest House was closed this year so we were unable to view the rosies from indoor comfort over a cup of steaming cocoa as many other visitors before us had done in years past.  Instead, we located the new feeders (which had been set up just this year due to the Crest House closure), and parked in the lower parking lot facing them.  Luckily, the sun was shining and we kept warm and comfortable in the car.  We hit relatively mild weather for Sandia Crest (at 10,600 feet)--there was no wind, the temperatures were in the high 30's, and there were inches rather than feet of snow on the ground.  We kept vigil for the finches all day, beginning our watch around 10:30 a.m. and returning to the bed and breakfast by 4:00 p.m. so that we wouldn't have to drive down the mountain in the dark.  On our first day, we saw a couple flocks of 5 to 30 birds but our total viewing time was only about 7 minutes.  The rosies would appear, descend on the feeders, gobble up seed, but linger only for a minute or so.  Then they would again be off as one beautiful flock of translucent, rosy wings, lit up by the sun.  I later learned that a flock of rosies is called a bouquet, a rather fitting name since they looked like a bunch of rose petals tossed into the air.

The next day rewarded us with much more viewing time.  A few rosies landed only inches from Keith as he refilled one of the feeders, honoring him with a very special moment.  Keith took lots of  photographs, and a cursory peek at the camera revealed he'd amassed some nice shots.  We could barely wait to get back home and look at the photos on the large screen of our laptop.

Some people would say we're crazy for traveling 900 miles roundtrip over the span of four days to see birds.  To us, however, the trip was well worth it.  I will never forget my first look at these elusive, rose-colored birds.  This was one of those experiences that will be treasured for a life-time.

 



A black rosy finch at Sandia Crest, NM