Winter New Mexico - January 2026
Dates: January 6 - 12, 2026
Leader: Barry Zimmer
E-bird
Total Species: 141 birds
Click Here to view list.
Overall Summary
Once again, our Winter New Mexico tour was a huge success. From El Paso to Albuquerque, we scoured the Rio Grande Valley and the surrounding mountain ranges, grasslands, and deserts to record a wonderful array of birds. All but one day featured very good weather, with temperatures ranging from 15 to 69 degrees and mostly gorgeous, sunny skies. The windy day of January 8 was the exception, with challenging conditions and cold wind chills throughout the day.
Our tour began with a brief afternoon visit to west El Paso, where we located an impressive 7,500+ Yellow-headed Blackbirds before they headed off to their evening roost. An unusually cooperative Crissal Thrasher posed for scope views at Keystone Marsh, and we had a decent variety of waterfowl, including scope studies of Mexican Ducks. A great start to our adventure!
The next day was spent largely in and around El Paso itself. We began the morning at Ascarate Park, located not far from our hotel. An astounding ten Burrowing Owls (many from very close range) stole the show, but we also enjoyed a tour-first Anhinga (!), side-by-side comparisons of Double-crested and Neotropic Cormorants, a rare wintering Osprey, and Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, and Buffleheads practically eating out of our hands.
A quick visit to Chamizal National Memorial followed, where a stunning male Vermilion Flycatcher, several Western Bluebirds, and a rare Brown Creeper topped the list.
My yard was next in line, where we were greeted by a Curve-billed Thrasher in the driveway. A Red-naped Sapsucker, two Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays, Spotted Towhees, and a rare wintering Hooded Oriole were also seen.
Before lunch, we made one more stop in nearby McKelligon Canyon. There we found a good number of desert species, including Verdin, Rock and Cactus Wrens, Black-throated Sparrow, Green-tailed and Canyon Towhees, and Pyrrhuloxia, among others.
After lunch, we went to a friend’s house and tallied a stunning male Rufous Hummingbird, another Red-naped Sapsucker, and a Plumbeous Vireo (rather rare in winter).
The next day was spent in the Organ Mountains just east of Las Cruces and the adjacent Jornada grasslands. Unfortunately, very windy conditions prevailed, making birding both difficult and uncomfortable. Despite the challenging conditions, we saw many great birds and enjoyed some stunning scenery. We recorded an impressive fourteen species of sparrows on the day, including Black-chinned, Rufous-crowned, Brewer’s, Vesper, and Lark Bunting, as well as all three species of towhees (Green-tailed, Canyon, and Spotted), among others. Other notable birds for the day included Gambel’s Quail, a distant Golden Eagle, Loggerhead Shrike, and Phainopepla.
On Day Four of our tour, we ventured northward along the Rio Grande toward Percha and Caballo state parks and nearby Las Animas Creek. Hundreds of Sandhill Cranes were seen as we cruised through the agricultural lands near the town of Hatch. We headed pretty directly to Las Animas Creek, where we tallied several Acorn Woodpeckers, five Bridled Titmice (from as close as fifteen feet away), White-breasted Nuthatch, more Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays, and a pair of Northern Cardinals (subspecies superbus), among others. Inside Percha State Park, we found a good variety of birds, including a rare Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, all three phoebes (where else can you do that!), another Vermilion Flycatcher, many Western Bluebirds and Phainopeplas, and a very rare Northern Parula. At nearby Caballo Reservoir, we added Clark’s and Horned Grebes to our list, while below the dam at Riverside Campground, we found about 40 White-throated Swifts feeding over the river and a couple of cooperative Wilson’s Snipe. We finished the day at the dam overlook at Elephant Butte Lake, where we had good scope views of Western Grebe and saw distant mergansers and American White Pelicans.
The next day began with a search for the elusive Sagebrush Sparrow. Our first stops proved unproductive, but then Mary spotted a perched Golden Eagle near the interstate. When we got out for that, we also found four Sagebrush Sparrows. What luck!
From there we headed north to the famous Bosque del Apache NWR. A cruise around the refuge tour loop yielded a thousand or so more Sandhill Cranes, countless waterfowl, two Greater Roadrunners, three Bald Eagles, and some American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins feeding on sunflowers. On the road out of the refuge, we found about 300 Ross’s Geese right next to the road (and side by side with Snow Geese for great comparison), as well as a stunning dark-morph Ferruginous Hawk.
After an awesome lunch at the Buckhorn (including the seventh-best burger in the United States!), we headed to nearby Water Canyon. Along the way, we stopped for a flock of forty Mountain Bluebirds that decorated the trees and shrubs like so many turquoise-blue Christmas ornaments. At Water Canyon itself, we had a nice variety of birds, including Red-naped Sapsucker, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Bushtit, more Western Bluebirds, and flocks of Pine Siskins. A jittery flock of Chestnut-collared Longspurs coming in to drink at a water tank near the canyon entrance was a good find. We finished up the day at the Ladd Gordon Waterfowl Complex at Bernardo. The big numbers of geese and cranes were wintering in that area this year, as opposed to nearby Bosque del Apache NWR. Bernardo did not disappoint, with an estimated 10,000 white geese and 8,000 Sandhill Cranes seen at very close range. It was an amazing spectacle of sight and sound.
On our last day, we arrived back at Bernardo before dawn to see the morning lift-off of birds. Numbers were even bigger than the previous evening, with perhaps 20,000 Snow Geese and 10,000 Sandhill Cranes. It was a truly magical morning, with trumpeting cranes just yards away waking up in the morning mist and skeins of geese filling the skies overhead.
From Bernardo, it was up to 10,600 feet at Sandia Crest, high above Albuquerque, in hopes of seeing rosy-finches. In short order, a good-sized flock of rosy-finches descended on the feeder, with all three species present. Black and Brown-capped were fairly numerous, with a couple of Gray-crowned (one of which was a Hepburn’s) present as well. Hairy Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, and Mountain Chickadees were also attending the feeders. We also marveled at the beautiful snow-covered scenery.
In all, we tallied 140 species of birds, including twelve species of raptors (counting hawks, owls, and falcons), seventeen species of sparrows, and eighteen species of waterfowl. We had many rarities (with two tour firsts) for the trip, including but not limited to Horned Grebe, Anhinga, Osprey, Rufous Hummingbird, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Vermilion Flycatcher, Plumbeous Vireo, Brown Creeper, Hooded Oriole, and Northern Parula. The bird spectacles were perhaps most impressive of all, with geese, cranes, Mountain Bluebirds, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds all putting on amazing shows. All of this occurred under mostly wonderful, pleasant weather conditions and amid stunning scenery. What more could you ask for?
Favorite Birds of the Tour:
Mountain Bluebird (6 votes; 24 points)
Rosy-finches as a group (5 votes; 12 points)
Green-tailed Towhee (4 votes; 6 points)
Sandhill Crane (3 votes; 12 points)
“Hepburn’s” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch & Bridled Titmouse tied (2 votes; 5 points)
Day-by-Day Summary
January 6 - Afternoon birding in west El Paso highlighted by an incredible flock of 7,500+ Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Other notable sightings included Crissal Thrasher, Mexican Duck, and a variety of waterfowl at Keystone Marsh.
January 7 - Explored Ascarate Park, Chamizal National Memorial, McKelligon Canyon, and local residences. Highlights included ten Burrowing Owls, Anhinga, Vermilion Flycatcher, Brown Creeper, Rufous Hummingbird, Hooded Oriole, Plumbeous Vireo, and numerous desert specialty species.
January 8 - A windy but productive day in the Organ Mountains and surrounding grasslands. Recorded 14 sparrow species, including Black-chinned, Rufous-crowned, Brewer’s, and Vesper Sparrows, along with Golden Eagle, Gambel’s Quail, Loggerhead Shrike, and Phainopepla.
January 9 - Traveled north through Hatch, Percha State Park, Caballo Reservoir, and Elephant Butte Lake. Highlights included hundreds of Sandhill Cranes, Bridled Titmouse, Acorn Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Parula, Clark’s and Horned Grebes, and White-throated Swifts.
January 10 - Found Sagebrush Sparrow and Golden Eagle before exploring Bosque del Apache NWR. Enjoyed large numbers of cranes, geese, waterfowl, Bald Eagles, Ferruginous Hawk, and Mountain Bluebirds. Ended the day at Bernardo with spectacular concentrations of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes.
January 11 - Continued birding around the Socorro area, including Water Canyon and the Ladd Gordon Waterfowl Complex. Notable sightings included Red-naped Sapsucker, Juniper Titmouse, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Pine Siskin, and massive evening flights of geese and cranes.
January 12 - Witnessed an unforgettable sunrise lift-off of approximately 20,000 Snow Geese and 10,000 Sandhill Cranes at Bernardo. Finished the tour atop Sandia Crest, where all three rosy-finch species, Hairy Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, and Mountain Chickadee were observed amid beautiful snow-covered scenery.
Wildlife Seen:
MAMMALS:
Texas Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus interpres)---one at Paseo del Rio
Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)---one at the Chamizal was only the second time ever for this tour; this species has just recently colonized the El Paso area
Rock Squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus)
Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)---one the first afternoon at Keystone
Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)----one by me only near Elephant Butte
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)---group of around twenty at Bernardo
Total species – 6
HERPS:
Red-eared Slider
SIGNIFICANT OTHERS:
The Buckhorn Burger at Manny’s Buckhorn Saloon