Grand New Mexico May 25—Jun 04, 2009
Posted by Barry Zimmer
Barry Zimmer
Barry Zimmer has been birding since the age of eight. His main areas of expertise lie in North and Central America, but his travels have taken him throughout much of the wo...Related Trips
Our 2009 Grand New Mexico tour was a record-breaker, tallying an impressive 214 species of birds and besting the previous high count by 13. With its unique combination of west Texas/ southeastern Arizona specialty birds in the southern portion of the state and Colorado Rockies species in the north, the diversity is bound to be good; however, it is the quality of the birds seen that may be even more impressive. Many of the country's most difficult to find and sought after species are readily available on this tour, and that was certainly in evidence on this year's trip as well.
We began in El Paso with a brief afternoon excursion to the west side of town in hopes of finding Mississippi Kite. We quickly located a pair perched in an elm tree and enjoyed wonderful scope views. Shortly thereafter we had a singing Crissal Thrasher uncharacteristically posing for prolonged studies. A small Cave Swallow colony and an obliging Burrowing Owl outside of its den topped off the afternoon.
The next day we ventured north to the Las Cruces area where the nearby Organ Mountains yielded both Gray Vireo and Black-chinned Sparrow (two highly sought species) at ridiculously close range. Golden Eagle, Scaled and Gambel's quail, Canyon Wren, Hepatic Tanager, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-throated and Rufous-crowned sparrows, and Scott's Oriole were the icing on the cake. In the late afternoon we visited White Sands National Monument and a nearby waterbird locale. Generally in late May the migration is all but done, but nesting Snowy Plovers, American Avocets, and Black-necked Stilts provide plenty of entertainment. This year, however, something strange was up with lingering migrants and rarities all around. We tallied 13 species of shorebirds and 10 species of waterfowl including a male Eurasian Wigeon (accidental in the state), Canvasback (very late), Black-bellied Plover in full breeding plumage (rare), Sanderling (casual), Dunlin (casual), Baird's and Semipalmated sandpipers, and Red-necked (rare) and Wilson's phalaropes. Other goodies included White-faced Ibis, Clark's Grebe, and Yellow-headed Blackbird.
On our third day we headed northward, first scouring the Rio Grande Valley, and then birding our way westward through the Black Range to Silver City. Riparian areas along the river produced an array of colorful birds including Vermilion Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer and Western tanagers, Black-headed and Blue grosbeaks, and Hooded and Bullock's orioles to name a few. Our trip through the mountains paid dividends with a flurry of fantastic warbler sightings including Black-throated Gray, Grace's, Olive, Red-faced, and Painted Redstart! A Zone-tailed Hawk circling lazily overhead was an added bonus. We capped off our day with some evening owling which produced the always difficult Flammulated Owl in near record time and the Mexican race of Whip-poor-will right overhead.
The next two-and-a-half-days were spent around Silver City. This area is a birding mecca rivaling many of the mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona. Highlights here included two more Zone-tailed Hawks; Common Black-Hawk (both a pair in courtship display and a perched bird right next to the road); Common Poorwill (nearly in our laps); Elf, Barn, and Western Screech-owls; Gila Woodpecker; Dusky-capped (very rare here) and Brown-crested flycatchers; Western Bluebird; Bridled and Juniper titmice; Virginia's Warbler; a dozen each of Red-faced Warblers and Painted Redstarts in one day; four more Olive Warblers; and Abert's Towhee. The following day of the trip was basically a travel day to get to Socorro, yet we had some great bird sightings. Topping the list was a Dipper feeding young that we watched for about 20 minutes. Stunning Lewis's Woodpeckers and Mountain Bluebirds, a Ferruginous Hawk on a nest, Pinyon Jay (always a highlight), Sage Thrasher, Brewer's Sparrow, and a very responsive Green-tailed Towhee all vied for our attention.
A morning visit to famous Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge produced Western Grebe, American White Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, three Least Bitterns, and Cinnamon Teal among others, and then it was on to Santa Fe.
The northern portion of the state yields quite a different variety from the south, with close affinities to Colorado. Here the cool spruce-fir forests of the mountains gave us many great sightings including Williamson's (five) and Red-naped sapsuckers; a Three-toed Woodpecker at about 20 feet (!); Hammond's, Dusky, and Gray flycatchers; a flock of 40 Pinyon Jays very close; Clark's Nutcrackers; Black-billed Magpie; more Mountain Bluebirds; a stunning Lazuli Bunting; a very rare for here Black-and-white Warbler; MacGillivray's Warbler; and Evening and Pine grosbeaks.
In all we tallied 214 species of birds, 22 species of mammals (including bobcat, elk, pronghorn, and tassel-eared squirrel), and 17 species of reptiles and amphibians. We marveled at spectacular scenery and ancient Native American ruins. We also enjoyed splendid weather, with the thermostat reaching 80 degrees on only three days (never topping 87), and getting down to as low as the 40s at night. All in all, a superb trip!