New Mexico Trip Report

November 17-23, 2002

(To download the species list for this trip in PDF format, click here.)

Our New Mexico tour began with visits to a few sites around Albuquerque including the Rio Grande Nature Center.  A restored wetland here attracts a variety of waterfowl, with almost point-blank looks from the comfort of a warm viewing room.  Riparian cottonwoods surround the center and feeders attracted several forms of Dark-eyed Junco, numerous sparrows, “Audubon’s” Warbler, and Spotted Towhee.  A Valley Pocket-Gopher entertained us as he filled his cheeks with birdseed.  On the other side of Albuquerque we explored the Tres Pistolas Canyon Springs trail.  The foothills here feature pinyon-juniper woodlands, montane scrub, and rocky hillsides with patches of rabbitbrush and sparse grasses.  A Ladder-backed Woodpecker and Western Scrub-Jays foraged in the trees, Townsend’s Solitaires called from atop junipers, a flock of Bushtits passed through, and Canyon Towhees scratched around in the bushes.

Sandia Crest rises to 10,678 feet just outside of Albuquerque and provides easy access to high coniferous forest and awesome views.  The lower slopes are home to numbers of the distinctive Abert’s Squirrel.  Starting with dry foothills, the six-mile road traverses several habitat types as it climbs to the summit.  Steller’s Jay, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Brown Creeper were found here; and we were lucky enough to see Clark’s Nutcracker, Pine Grosbeak, and all three Rosy-Finches.  It was an unusual experience for many folks to get three life birds at once—all together on a feeder just a few feet away while we sipped hot coffee!  The views from the summit reveal several snow-capped mountain ranges.

We traveled south to the town of Socorro, our base for the next two days.  Socorro is a small town that offers several good restaurants and shops and is a short drive from Bosque Del Apache and Water Canyon.  Though traces of the town’s wild past in the late nineteenth century are still visible in the main plaza, the town is now home to a state college and has a slower, laid-back feel.

Our first day at Bosque Del Apache was great, with refuge volunteer and Bosque expert Robert Kruidenier providing us with an in-depth study of the refuge’s geese, cranes, and habitat management.  The thousands of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes, waterfowl, and raptors including Golden Eagle and Harris’s Hawk spoke for themselves.  We delighted in close studies of Ross’s Geese, Neotropic Cormorant, “Harlan’s” Hawk, and many other waterbirds.  There are beautiful mountains that border Bosque and glow in the horizontal sunlight.  One can’t help but take rolls of pictures.  The refuge offers more than geese and cranes: we had a four-falcon day including two Prairie Falcons; a flock of cooperative Lesser Goldfinches and Mountain Bluebirds, Northern Shrike, American Dipper, and Yellow-headed Blackbird.

The dawn flight at Bosque is wonderful, with skies changing from pink to purple and peppered with geese and cranes numbering in the thousands.  The birds roost in the refuge’s impoundments and disperse to feed in the surrounding area during the day.  After a late breakfast we headed west to Water Canyon where we saw a new suite of species typical of pinyon-juniper woodlands and riparian habitats.  A flock of Acorn Woodpeckers entertained us while a Black Phoebe hawked insects over a stream.  Townsend’s Solitaires called from the hillsides.  On the ride out we passed through grasslands where a flock of several hundred Chestnut-collared and McCown’s Longspurs flew about and a distant herd of Pronghorn Antelope eyed us warily.

Traveling further south along the Rio Grande we made camp at a hotel in Truth-or-Consequences.  Formerly known as Hot Springs, the town changed its name to that of the popular game show hosted by Ralph Edwards.  We ate at an excellent Mexican restaurant and had only minutes to drive to reach good birding spots.

Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs offered a different landscape of sparsely vegetated desert, craggy mountains, and the largest lake in New Mexico.  The latter hosted thousands of Western Grebes, dozens of Clark’s Grebes, American White Pelicans, waterfowl, and shorebirds against a mountainous backdrop.  In the surrounding desert we tracked down mixed species flocks that included Brewer’s, Sage, and Black-throated Sparrows.  Black-tailed Jackrabbits bounded away at our approach.  Dry streambeds and creosote scrub also contained several Verdins and Rock Wren.  One sharp-eyed participant spied a Western Pygmy-Blue, one of the world’s smallest butterflies.

Percha Dam is one of the best birding sites in New Mexico.  This wonderful spot offers pleasant birding along a section of the Rio Grande with acres of tall cottonwoods lining the river.  Nearby agricultural fields and open country complemented the scenery and bird life.  We enjoyed great looks at a Crissal Thrasher and Ferruginous Hawk, and combed through flocks of western passerines that contained Bewick’s Wren, Say’s Phoebe, American Pipit, Brewer’s Sparrow, and large numbers of White-winged Doves.  Mammals included Arizona Gray Squirrels and Mule Deer in the cottonwood groves.  Some other goodies we found here included Williamson’s and Red-naped Sapsuckers, Phainopepla, and rarities like Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, and Palm Warbler—one birder’s chaff is another’s wheat!

Paseo Del Rio Park is another smaller riparian area along the Rio Grande just outside of Truth or Consequences.  The Rio Grande hosts flocks of American Wigeon, Gadwall, and other dabblers here.  It is a migrant trap for passerines, providing trees and vegetation in an otherwise arid landscape.  Mixed flocks included Verdin, Rock and Canyon Wrens, Crissal Thrasher, a beautiful (and late) male Vermillion Flycatcher, Pyrrhuloxia, and Canyon Towhee.

Returning to Albuquerque we revisited the Rio Grande Nature Center, Sandia Crest, and stopped at Petroglyphs National Monument.  The Rinconada Canyon trail is a rocky, desert landscape with Native American rock art and deep blue skies.  Birds we saw well here included Greater Roadrunner, Rufous-crowned and Sage Sparrows, and Common Raven.

The Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico is a wonderful corner of the southwest to visit.  The tour provides a great opportunity to enjoy and learn many widespread western birds and mammals, and witness one of America’s great wildlife spectacles.  The tour also offers a chance to see several hard-to-find birds like Crissal Thrasher, Rosy-finches, and Pine Grosbeak.  New Jersey Audubon will run this tour again in November 2004—we hope you’ll join us for another great trip!

--Scott Barnes
Senior Naturalist
Sandy Hook Bird Observatory
New Jersey Audubon Society

For tour itineraries, to register, or for more information contact:

NJAS Eco-Travel at: (908)-204-8998
9 Hardscrabble Road
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
or email travel@njaudubon.org.

If you are not a member and would like to become one, consider Joining New Jersey Audubon Society.