New Mexico 2006 Trip Report
Bosque Del Apache & the Rio Grande Valley

November 11-19, 2006

Photos: Scott Barnes

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

Nov 12:  Our day began at the Rinconada Canyon section of Petroglyphs National Monument with a walk along a trail straddling desert sagebrush and boulder-strewn slopes that produced many singing White-crowned Sparrows and good looks at a singing Canyon Towhee.  We enjoyed looks at two perched Sage Sparrows and two Black-throated Sparrows in the same bush.  Karla spotted a flock of beautiful Lesser Goldfinches feeding on the hillside.  A pair of Brewer’s Sparrows also gave us a brief view.  On to the Rio Grande Nature Center, which hosted an array of waterfowl including a large flock of Cackling Geese, subtly beautiful drake Gadwalls, and Pied-billed Grebes.  A pair of Sandhill Cranes calling overhead only hinted at what was to come at Bosque.  Our first Greater Roadrunner strutted around in the parking lot.

Next we headed for lunch at Sandia Crest where the café offered a warm opportunity to view rosy-finches.  We learned about a banding project operating there aimed at discovering more about the species composition and origins of the rosy-finch flocks that spend the winter around the Sandia Mountains.  Several exotic-looking Black Rosy-Finches came into the feeders, and one was caught for banding—allowing us up-close looks before being released.  Not to be outdone, a striking Steller’s Jay also hit the feeders.  This race is the interior one, with a white stripe over the eye.  Down slope, mixed species flocks of Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and “Gray-headed” Juncos entertained us.  Every now and then a break in the fir-pine forest revealed a wonderful view of the surrounding landscape.

Nov 13: Bosque Del Apache is one of the stars of the National Wildlife Refuge system and kept us busy for the entire day.  Thousands of ducks fed in the many impoundments and fields.  Most were Northern Pintails, Mallards, and Northern Shovelers, but one deeper pool held hundreds of Canvasback, Redhead, and Ring-necked Ducks.  A close Clark’s Grebe gave us a chance to differentiate between this scarcer species and the more abundant Western Grebe.  At the south end of the marsh loop a Coyote prowled the roadside for unwary prey.  A perched American Pipit gave Karla’s van a great look.  Twenty Greater White-fronted Geese allowed scope views just before lunch.  After lunch and a quick tour through the visitor center we headed back out into the refuge.  Singing Western Meadowlarks entertained us and a single Eastern Phoebe made for a phoebe trifecta.  The adult Bald Eagle remained faithful to its perch atop a dead tree: we wondered for a moment if it was real or a fake one placed there for the impending festival of the cranes.  Towards dusk, we experienced the sights and sounds of thousands of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes flying in to roost on the protective impoundments of the refuge.  The sunset over the mountains wasn’t bad either!

Nov 14: Heading south before daybreak we watched the sky brighten over the Chupadera Mountains.  At sunrise we were at Bosque’s flight deck enjoying the bugling of cranes and the yelping of geese as they prepared for morning take off.  The adult Bald Eagle sat contently in its favorite perch, plucking away at a breakfast duck.  Flocks of Brewer’s Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackles flew north.  Like the geese and cranes, they too disperse widely during the day along the agricultural fields in the Rio Grande Valley.  Along the marsh loop we had nice looks at four Yellow-headed Blackbirds among hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds.  Besides their bright yellow heads and breasts, in flight we could see the white wing patches that add to this attractive species.  Three coyotes prowled the wet fields and one managed to catch some unlucky feathered creature.  At the nicely designed Phil Norton Observation Blind we heard a grunting Virginia Rail, ‘keeking’ Long-billed Dowitchers, and Hooded Mergansers.

After brunch we traveled west into the Magdalena Mountains to Water Canyon.  A frustrating experience with arguably the “boo-bird” of the tour ensued: an uncooperative flock of Chestnut-collared Longspurs gave us fits as they briefly touched down for sips of water at a stock pond.  A nice consolation was a scope view of a Loggerhead Shrike.  Further up the canyon a pair of Golden Eagle soared over the rocky and lichen-covered ridge.  A favored dead tree along the roadside yielded excellent looks at three Acorn Woodpeckers, who were overseeing their winter cache of nuts.  Perhaps the highlight of a brief visit to the thriving ‘burg’ of Magdalena was ten Eurasian Collared-Doves in a front yard.  Despite our suspicious behavior of driving back and forth through town several times and the presence of ostensibly bored US Marshals, we escaped without incident.

Nov 15: Elephant Butte Reservoir is the largest body of water in New Mexico and offered a chance to view a variety of waterbirds in a predominately dry state.  At Monticello Point scattered flocks of American Coots and hundreds of Western Grebes dotted the water’s surface.  A Loggerhead Shrike seemed to be making half-hearted sorties through a large flock of White-crowned Sparrow.  Continuing south we visited the Paseo Del Rio section of Elephant Butte State Park.  Passerines were evident from the moment we left the vans.  A fly-by Osprey, a pair of Curve-billed Thrasher, calling Gambel’s Quail, and Pyrrhuloxia greeted us.  Stands of willow combined with Fremont Cottonwoods and hackberry trees make this a birdy spot.  We played hide-and-seek with a Green-tailed Towhee, had some looks at shy Lincoln’s Sparrows and Black-throated Sparrows, and Karla got a quick look at a Winter Wren.  On the hillside beyond the Rio Grande a Cactus Wren sang from the desert scrub.  A Hammond’s Flycatcher hawking insects along the river was a bonus.  Our first Verdin of the trip showed fairly well while it searched for food in a mesquite tree.

In the afternoon we did more waterbirding around the lower half of Elephant Butte Reservoir.  Scanning the lake we observed a few close Clark’s Grebes and Western Grebes, noting the differences in bill and loral color.  Further out the water was covered with grebes totaling in the low thousands.  Other birds present were American White Pelicans and a few Bonaparte’s Gulls.  The highlight for many however, was not a bird but the sight of two coyotes catching fish (including one large one) at the water’s edge.  Near the dam we debated the shape, direction, and imagination required to see the elephant in Elephant Butte Island.

Nov 16: Percha Dam State Park was a change of pace and a new habitat for the tour.  This area contains a remnant stand of riparian cottonwood forest along the Rio Grande.  The lack of large stands of riverside forest to the north and south make it a migrant trap for landbirds.  Immediately we heard the ‘woit’ call of Phainopeplas and Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warblers chipping away.  Walking from towering cottonwood to cottonwood we tallied a variety of species including Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, more Phainopeplas with their bright red eyes, scores of White-winged Doves, a calling Hammond’s Flycatcher, a pair of Mountain Bluebird, and the show-stopping immature male Vermillion Flycatcher which posed for lengthy scope views.  Along the Rio Grande we observed Spotted Sandpiper (no spots this time of year), flyover American White Pelicans, Black Phoebes, and rock-hopping American Pipits.  A staked-out Great Horned Owl (of the dusty-colored southwestern subspecies) allowed excellent looks.

After lunch and a little time for repose we explored the agricultural fields near the town of Arrey.  In addition to the usual Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels, we had nice looks at a “Harlan’s” Red-tailed Hawk—a dark subspecies that breeds in British Columbia and Alaska and a scarce visitor to New Mexico.  An immature dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk offered us a chance to see the distinctions between these two forms, especially the Harlan’s white tail.  Animas Creek was our next stop and the only place on the tour where we saw a stream lined with Arizona Sycamores.  It was the only spot on the tour for Bridled Titmouse, and with some persistence we enjoyed good looks at this attractive species.  A few Acorn Woodpeckers were evident as well, though they remained hidden for the most part.  Even though the birds weren’t dripping off the trees, this beautiful place recalled the gallery forests of drainages in southeast Arizona.  With beautiful light beginning to make the Caballo Mountains glow, we headed back to Truth or Consequences.

Nov 17: Returning to Paseo Del Rio, we got scope looks at a covey of Gambel’s Quail across the river.  A few Brewer’s Sparrows came to drink at the Rio Grande.  We had an enjoyable chat with a New Mexico Parks staffer, who told us of local mammals including bobcat and javelina (which of course, we did not see!).  A male Pyrrhuloxia showed his best colors, including the red underwings in flight.  The rest of the morning was spent checking various points along Elephant Butte Reservoir.  Western and Clark’s Grebes were everywhere, and an American White Pelican spotted by Drew gave us a great fly-by view.  Close to shore, we enjoyed watching the frenzied begging of juvenile Clark’s Grebes before being fed fish by the parents.  Better still, we watched a pair of Clark’s Grebe perform their full-blown mating ritual—including rushing across the water with bodies almost vertical, and “dip-shaking” their heads and necks.

Heading north we revisited Bosque Del Apache and added an Eared Grebe to the trip list.  Also present were the usual thousands of geese, ducks, and cranes.  About half of the Rocky Mountain population of 18,000 to 22,000 Sandhill Cranes spends the winter at the refuge.  The parents migrate south with young in tow, and continue to school them in feeding, predator avoidance, and other life skills until spring migration.  For this sunset, we chose the less-crowded scout deck at the southern end of the big impoundment and enjoyed a final evening with beautiful light, colorful mountains, and the sights and sounds of geese and cranes.

Nov 18: In the morning we visited Three Gun Canyon Springs to sample some of the birds found in Pinyon-Juniper habitat.  Several Western Scrub-Jays were evident, as were some flyover Western Bluebirds.  Down in the wash we heard the metronome-like cadence of calling Scaled Quail.  Despite fanning out and much searching, we were only able to get quick looks at the pair in flight.  A brief loop up to the Hondo Canyon trailhead produced a look at a fast-moving flock of Bushtits.  Our first stop on the way to Sandia Crest was the Doc Long Picnic Area, where three obliging Abert’s Squirrels (that’s ‘ska-were-olls’) sat contently eating juniper berries.  With their large triangular ears, jet-black bodies, and white puffy tails, they made for a real crowd-pleaser.  Soon vying for our attention was a mixed species flock of passerines that included several Pygmy Nuthatches and a Townsend’s Solitaire.  Climbing further towards the summit we scared up a flock of Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, a few calling Golden-crowned Kinglets, and a Brown Creeper.  Lunch was at the Sandia Crest House, and we enjoyed close looks at Steller’s Jays and Black Rosy-Finches.  We also got comparative looks at Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches next to their cousins.  On our descent Drew spotted passerines atop some spruce trees which turned out to be calling Red Crossbills.  We quickly hopped out of the vans and watched the flock through the scope for a few minutes before the disappeared.  Also there was a flock of calling Pine Siskins, and a male Cassin’s Finch made a brief appearance.  Our final stop of the tour was a quick look at the pond at the Rio Grande Nature Center where the elusive Eurasian Wigeon remained elusive.  A couple hundred Cackling Geese were evident, and we studied the curious behavior of small groups of Northern Shovelers spinning phalarope-style, presumably to draw morsels of food to the surface.  With the light waning we had to call it a day and headed back to the hotel for our final meal together.

-Scott Barnes

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