I am never surprised by what I might see on an afternoon’s drive in Northern New Mexico. Today, I went on a drive to Black Lake, just a short 10 miles south of Angel Fire. Located here, on the former Wyman’s Black Lake Ranch, is where scenes from the western movie Lonesome Dove was filmed. This area served as the “Montana Ranch location” in Lonesome Dove”. On this dav, the area treated me to a duck, that I have been searching to get a photo of for a long time. The Ruddy Duck. I think it is a New Mexico True duck as it has a turquoise bill. I also spotted a Ferruginous Hawk , a Scottish Highlands Bull, and a Belted Galloway!
Ferruginous Hawk (I believe). The largest of North American hawks, these guys love small rodents, prairie dogs, etc. Plenty of food for them at Black Lake, NM.
Scottish Highlands Bull. These guys are also known as Heilan Coo in Scots. They have two long, wide, handlebar-shaped horns on the top of their heads.
And I’m learning so much about cows, lol. The brown and white striped cow is The Belted Galloway, also known as “Belties”. It is a breed of cattle that have a white stripe around their middle. The rest of their body can be black, dun, or red. This color combination has led to their affectionate name of the “Oreo Cow”.
