2008 Tour Narrative
In Brief: Although New Mexico experienced some cold temperatures this January, we were blessed with cool but clear weather the entire trip. Fresh snow on the mountaintops and clear blue skies provided a very scenic background to our outings. Surely the highlight this year was finding New Mexico’s 7th record of Rufous-backed Robin. Other avian highlights were the Barnacle Goose at Maxwell NWR, and all three species of rosy-finch presenting themselves for close study at the Sandia Crest House. The evening fly-in at Bosque Del Apache NWR was fantastic, with more than 20,000 Snow and Ross’s Geese and hundreds of Sandhill Cranes filling the air as they settled down in the farm fields. We were also fortunate to find several local rarities this year, such as Red-breasted Merganser, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Long-eared and Short-eared Owls, and Evening Grosbeak. As always, the friendly people, great scenery and local cuisine were superlative. This year’s New Mexico in Winter tour provided a host of long-lasting memories for the trip participants, and was a lot of fun for the leader.
In Detail: The 2008 WINGS tour through central New Mexico in winter was an unmitigated success. The group tallied an impressive 147 species in 6 days, traveling as far south as Percha Dam State Park and as far north as Maxwell N.W.R. Along the way, we experienced a breadth of habitats that is hard to match in any similarly sized area in the country. Montane coniferous forests, barren creosote flats, bottomland riparian cottonwood forests, extensive pinyon-juniper forests, and the wide-open prairie combined to provide spectacular backdrops for our daily excursions.
The birds were as varied as the terrain, with highlights at every turn. We began on our first day enjoying Canyon Wren, Crissal Thrasher, Juniper Titmouse, and Pinyon Jay in a small canyon on the south side of the Sandia Mountains, and then visited the lovely Rio Grande Nature Center for fantastic views of Cackling Goose, Wood Duck, and Hooded Merganser on a small sheltered pond in perfect light.
Day Two saw the group heading south to a series of large lakes and small riparian parks along the Rio Grande south of Socorro. In a beautiful side-canyon rich with Arizona Sycamores, we located a few Acorn Woodpeckers and Bridled Titmouse, a locally uncommon Inca Dove—and then a true rarity in the form of New Mexico’s 7th record of Rufous-backed Robin!
The rafts of Western and Clarke’s Grebes on Caballo Lake were impressive as ever, but a group of more than 1,000 Common Mergansers and point-blank studies of a female Prairie Falcon stole the show. On Day Three we savored a fantastically sunny day at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. The morning fly-out contained about 25,000 mixed geese, and in the afternoon the fields were stalked by thousands of Sandhill Cranes. The passover of a military helicopter resulted in a truly impressive sight as more than 50,000 birds whirled around us and then settled down in the nearby fields. Other highlights of the day were good views of Sage Sparrow, a flyover Short-eared Owl at dawn, stunning views of male Ring-necked Pheasants, and a wintering White-throated Sparrow at the visitor center’s feeders.
We awoke on Day Four to a tranquil morning in the peaceful grasslands east of San Antonio. A small stock pond nestled in this valley and ringed by purplish mountains at dawn played host to flocks of Horned Larks and Chestnut-collared Longspurs coming in to drink and providing fantastic scope views. Other favorites of the morning included a small flock of Scaled Quail, multiple Ferruginous Hawks and Chihuahuan Ravens, and several perched Lilian’s Eastern Meadowlarks.
We then set off for the pine-clad Sandia Mountains and the Crest House perched atop the main ridge. From the comforts of the lodge house we watched mixed flocks of Black, Brown-capped, and Gray-crowned (including the Hepburn’s race) Rosy-Finches coming in to feed just a few feet away through the large plate-glass windows. The bright pinks, bold browns, and rich blacks of these birds are astonishing, and the opportunity to view all three species so well, with easy side-by-side comparisons, is unique to this location in New Mexico. Finally sated by the rosy-finch show, we stopped to ogle some beautiful Mountain Bluebirds, and then enjoyed a sumptuous dinner in the old town of Santa Fe. Day Six found us out on the Great Plains, enjoying the series of small impoundments and woodlots at Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge. Here we were thrilled to find a Barnacle Goose, first reported in the throngs of Cackling Geese in early December, but seen very sporadically since; we also enjoyed great views of locally rare Northern Shrikes, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Barrow’s Goldeneye, and had incredible views of roosting Great Horned and Long-eared Owls. Another highlight was a gorgeous Lewis’s Woodpecker that flew in to greet us near the picturesque town of Cimarron.
On our final day we drove up through a winter fantasy, past forested slopes covered in hoarfrost to the Santa Fe Ski Valley, where we enjoyed lengthy views of Gray Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, and Mountain Chickadee. On the lower slopes we found many birds that had descended into the relative warmth of the lowlands. The chief highlights here included Townsend’s Solitaire, Cassin’s Finch, and three very surprising Evening Grosbeaks.
Although the focus of our tour is certainly on New Mexico’s astounding birdlife, we also were able to enjoy the varied and wonderful New Mexican cuisine. Whenever possible we ate at local restaurants, where we were constantly pleased by the subtle flavors of New Mexican chilis. The assortment of soups, salads, local beers, and desserts was staggering. Where else but the little Owl Café in San Antonio can one experience the world’s best Green Chili Cheeseburger? And in Albuquerque, at the Church Street Café one can dine in an adobe house built in the late 1700s and inhabited by a reputedly playful female ghost. New Mexico truly has a lot to offer!
Gavin Bieber
Updated: February 2008