ABA Reportable in New Mexico – and Then Some, though no Wood-Rail, Part 1, July 2013

With a late July business trip to Denver, and some spare time at home, I decided to add a couple days of vacation to work on my New Mexico state list.  I’ve been targeting NM lately, with three previous trips there in the last 12 months.  With a great migrant fallout and 20 new statebirds on my last NM trip in May, I was just 12 short of the old ABA reportable threshold.  And since I’ve never been to northern NM in summer, that gave me quite a number of reasonably regular nesting birds to try for.  As a result I was hopeful I could surpass the reportable threshold with several to spare, though of course I would have preferred a trip in June so there would be more song.  But I had to work around the business trip dates and hope for the best. 

A couple weeks before my trip a megararity was found in southern NM – a Rufous-Necked Wood-Rail, a first record for the US.  This would be an amazing addition to my trip if the bird stuck around long enough.  It was found at Bosque del Apache NWR, which is an excellent birding location - perhaps the best spot in NM.  There are a number of regular breeders at the refuge that I need for my NM list, plus some shorebird migrants and a continuing Carolina Wren that would be good additions.  So although this was farther south than I was expecting to travel, the possibility of seeing a megararity lifebird plus adding several other local specialities made the extra driving worthwhile.  As the trip approached the Wood-Rail was still being seen and heard, including the day before I left for the trip.  So I was hopeful I would get a lifebird bonus on what was otherwise a NM statebirding trip.

Day 1 – Evening at Bosque del Apache NWR

My flight arrived in Denver mid-morning, and I quickly started my 7 ½ hour drive south to Bosque del Apache.  If all went well I would arrive at the refuge in the early evening which is a time when the Wood-Rail was most often seen.  While en route I called the refuge and asked about the bird’s status – it was last heard pre-dawn the day before and not seen or heard at all that day.  That certainly wasn’t the best news, but there was a recent day when it was only seen after 6:30 PM, so I hadn’t given up total hope.  With only 2 brief stops along the way I got to the refuge at 6:30 and went right to the boardwalk on the Marsh Loop where it had been seen.  There were at least 30 other birders there, but no one had seen it that day.  Luckily quite a number of my other targets had been reported from that spot as well, so I had other birds to look for while waiting for the Wood-Rail.  One of the first birds I saw was a distant tern that turned out to be a Forster’s – my first new NM statebird for the trip.  A little later one of several very cooperative Least Bitterns came into view (#2), including this one that I captured in a phone-scoped photo.

In recent days this impoundment had featured a number of shorebirds I needed for my list, but that evening there was nothing new for me, though there was a large flock of Avocets, 3 Greater Yellowlegs (I need the other yellowlegs for my statelist), and some Western Sandpipers.  In the distance I finally got some looks at 2 Common Gallinules (#3) at the edge of the marsh.  I’ve now seen this species throughout much of its range in numerous regions across the US (see my statebird map below).

But as sunset approached, and still no Wood-Rail sighting, these 3 statebirds seemed like poor consolation prizes.  I left the refuge about 30 minutes after sunset, some 18 hours after I left my house that morning.  On the drive to my hotel several Lesser Nighthawks passed low over the road which were my last bird of the day.

Day 2 – Bosque del Apache, Magdalena Mountains, and Points North

While waiting unsuccessfully for the Wood-Rail on the evening of Day 1, I had quite a bit of time to think through the next day’s strategy.  Obviously the lifebird was my key target, and early morning had been a good time for the bird in the past, though of course the bird had not been seen or heard for 36 hours.  On the other hand, of course early morning would also be the prime time for landbirding, and I was worried that many of these landbirds would be tough to see later in the day especially so late in the summer.  I was given some advice for a great landbirding spot a short distance away – Water Canyon in the Magdalena Mountains, with key targets there not possible elsewhere on my itinerary being Red-faced Warbler, Olive Warbler, and Greater Pewee.  Decisions, decisions…  I decided to start at 5, pre-dawn, at the rail spot, and give it until 7.  If I didn’t have the bird by then it would be 48 hours since the last sighting, so I would give up on the Wood-Rail, bird briefly elsewhere on the refuge, and then head to the mountains.

I was the first person to arrive at the refuge at 5, to almost complete darkness.  As I intently listened for the unique call of the Wood-Rail, the pre-dawn chorus started with 2 distant Great Horned Owls.  A few minutes later a barely visible owl circled overhead and then called – it was a Barn Owl.  Overhead the stars and planets were putting on quite a show, including Jupiter low in the eastern sky.  I was quite lucky to be able to get this phone-scoped photo (heavily cropped) showing Jupiter and 4 of its moons.

It was now first light and about 20 other birders were with me along the boardwalk.  But still no Wood-Rail.  The dawn chorus consisted of several Chats and Yellowthroats, along with Blue Grosbeaks, a White-winged Dove, and even a Roadrunner cooing.  The impoundment featured a different mix of shorebirds from yesterday – no avocets or yellowlegs but now several Baird’s and Least Sands were in with the Westerns.  And 3 dark ibis were feeding in the distance – 1 was noticeably larger and fed a short distance from the other 2.  But they stayed too far away for positive ID.  At 7 I stuck to my plan, and left the boardwalk, disappointed about the Wood-Rail, but hopeful for my other targets at the refuge.

Most of my targets were seen along the Seasonal Tour Road so that was my planned first stop.  Soon after I left the boardwalk I saw a couple other birders with binocs trained into the sky.  I hopped out of the car and watched 2 Green Heron’s fly by (#4).  One of the first birds I saw on the Seasonal Tour Road was a large raptor perched on a dead tree in a distant impoundment.  Although I assumed it was just a Red-tail, I stopped and looked at it through the binocs.  I’m glad I did – it was a Peregrine (#5).  As my statebird map shows, I still need this recovering species in a lot of states.

As I drove slowly along the brush was full of small passerines like Lesser Goldfinches, Blue Grosbeaks, Chats, and Yellowthroats.  At my first stop I flushed a small warbler which I followed to a distant perch which turned out to be a Lucy’s Warbler (#6).  A few minutes later I arrived at the spot where the long-staying Carolina Wren had been recently reported.  I got out of the car and started to walk down the road to listen for the wren.  Luckily it started calling soon thereafter (#7), because the mosquitoes were intense!  NM is now my third state seeing this species as a rarity (along with ID and CO).

As I neared the end of the road, I stopped to watch a family of Bewick’s Wrens feeding young.  And a minute later a pair of Willow Flycatcher’s starting singing (#8).  That was all 3 of my landbird targets for the refuge in just a 15-minute span.  While heading back to the refuge exit a male Vermillion Flycatcher flew by and perched most cooperatively at the edge of the road.  Though not new for my NM list, I can never see enough Vermillion Flys!  Just before I left the refuge I passed by a small mudflat in the last impoundment which contained a couple Killdeer, a Spotted Sand, and a Solitary Sandpiper (#9).  I left the refuge at 8 AM with mixed emotions – although I missed the Wood-Rail I was very happy with 9 new statebirds including a few that are very good for NM.

The next stop was in the foothills of the Magdalena Mountains at a location called The Box.  This is a rocky pinyon juniper area reported to be one of the best spots for Gray Vireo, and possibly some of my other targets.  The dirt road up the valley had been washed out by recent heavy rains, so I parked the car and walked up the hillside into the junipers.  It was quite a walk uphill under a warming sunny sky, but I eventually got into the habitat which featured Scott’s Orioles, and Canyon and Rock Wrens, but no Gray Vireos.  Though I was able to add one target - 2 Black-throated Gray Warblers singing above me on the hillside (#10).  I’ve now seen BT Grays throughout its normal western range as well as two eastern states as a rarity.

Next stop was the mouth of Water Canyon, which unfortunately I didn’t reach until about 10 AM.  The lower stretches of the canyon were in pinyon juniper habitat, but with hardly any song.  Best I could do was a flock of Bushtits and a Western Pewee.  The woodland transitioned to mostly deciduous trees with a few Ponderosa pines when I reached the Water Canyon Campground.  Just outside the campground I heard an unfamiliar pigeon sound.  I tracked it down and found a flock of 12 Band-tailed Pigeons (#11).  And nearby I stopped to check out some dead snags and an Acorn Woodpecker flew in (#12).  That was #264 for me in NM, the ABA reportable threshold!  I continued up the canyon making numerous stops up into the ponderosa pines and firs but saw few birds, even though I played some Pygmy Owl tape.  Initially the highlights were several Cordilleran Flycatchers (#13) along the dry creek that paralleled the road up the canyon, and a stop with several Hammond Flycatchers and Juniper Titmice.  My statebird map for Cordilleran now pretty well matches this species’ range though with a gap in UT.

  

Then on a next stop I heard distant calls of a Pygmy Owl – but was it a recording from another birder?  I doubled back to get closer to the calls and sure enough the sounds were coming from a distant inaccessible part of the canyon – a Northern Pygmy Owl (#14).  The owl continued to call for at least the next 30 minutes.  One last stop in the canyon yielded a family group of Ash-throated Flycatchers, and the first of 2 family groups of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers (#15) – one of my nemesis birds for NM.  And I can finally fill in NM as one of my last gaps in my statebird map for this species.

Other birders I ran into mentioned they earlier had a Painted Redstart and Red-faced Warblers in the canyon, but I wasn’t so lucky.  The small number of birds and the almost complete lack of bird song really had me worried about finding many of my woodland targets, though I was happy to have found the Pygmy Owl.  Maybe it was just the time of day – it was now 1:30 PM and getting warm even at this altitude.

On my way up the canyon earlier in the day a young boy noticed me birding along the road and mentioned that I could come by his house to see his hummingbirds if I wanted.  So as I returned to this area, and still needing Calliope Hummingbird, I decided to drop by the house.  I was invited to their yard and quickly found a single feeder that was loaded with hummingbirds.  I estimated about 100 birds in total, with maybe 70% Broad-tails buzzing away, 20% smaller but very aggressive Rufous, and about 10% shier but larger Black-chins.  Finally I noticed a smaller bird perched in a nearby shrub – a male Calliope (#16).  I would also find a female Calliope a bit later.  These small birds were tiny compared to their relatively larger cousins.  I took this photo with my iPhone of a representative group of the hummers at the feeder.

The homeowners were very friendly and shared some good stories about their local birding experiences, including the fact that they fed the doves – the flock of Band-tails I had earlier were actually in their yard. 

It was now 3 PM and time to figure out what to do with the rest of my day.  I decided to start heading north making what would hopefully be short stops for specific target birds – “tactical strikes” as I call them.  The first one was a marsh called the Taco Bell Marsh on e-bird that had several recent reports of Cattle Egrets.  Though I was completely relying on the location listed on e-bird, I hoped that the title meant that there would be a Taco Bell nearby.  Luckily the location was perfect (right next to a Taco Bell), and I pulled up to a small wetlands that had nesting Black-necked Stilts, a few Wilson’s Phalaropes, and several peeps.  And in a small group of trees nearby were 17 Cattle Egrets (#17).  It’s great when e-bird works out so well.  My sightings for this species have now covered all the southern states but are still very spotty elsewhere across the US. 

Next stop was at a location along the Rio Grande River in Isleta with nesting Common Black-Hawks.  These birds are only infrequently seen in the area, but when they are seen they are typically perched on light poles on a dam at this spot.  As I neared the dam I quickly noticed a large black bird on a distant light pole.  I found a spot to pull over and there was the Black-Hawk (#18).  That was lucky!

Next stop was in a juniper habitat east of Albuquerque at the Four Hills Open Space for possible Gray Vireos.  I arrived at the spot and after a few minutes realized that this might not be a very fruitful chase – although it seemed like good habitat it was a large area with no bird song.  So I headed back to the car after adding Canyon Towhees to the trip list. 

A short distance to the north was a location where I was told that Scaled Quail were reliable.  This location was in a neighborhood along Simms Park Road near the Elena Gallegos Open Space, where feeders attract quail.  This was my biggest nemesis bird in NM – I’ve spent many hours in good habitat and have birded specific locations for them, but with no luck.  One of the problems in Albuquerque is that the introduced Gambel’s Quail may be displacing the native Scaled Quail.  I arrived at the preferred location but could find no feeders.  But there was good native habitat in the area, so I decided to walk through the area and give it a try.  Just a couple minutes after leaving the car I heard a brief call of what I thought was a Scaled Quail – but I couldn’t be sure.  A short walk later I saw movement in the grasses – a family group of at least a dozen Gambel’s Quail.  Will this be another failed search?  But just a few seconds later I saw more movement and there was a Scaled Quail moving through the brush (#19) – no longer a nemesis bird for my NM list.

Since I was able to quickly get my targets on most of my tactical strikes, there was still a little time left to try for one last target – Osprey.  Although there were no recent Ospreys reported on e-bird, there was a report from early June of birds on a nesting platform just south of Cochiti Lake not too far off the route to my next hotel. Of course the report was 45 days old, and maybe the birds would have left the nest by now, but I decided to give it a try.  I arrived at the location listed on e-bird but there was no nesting platform in site.  So I decided to drive to the lake and look for them there.  But before I reached the lake I noticed a platform up ahead – it was the Osprey platform complete with an adult and full-sized juvenile (#20).  Although the e-bird location wasn’t exact, the report still gave me enough information to be able to find one of my targets.  My statebird map for Osprey is pretty well filled in except for the plains states.

I finished the day with 106 species – not bad for a hot day in July.  And 17 new birds for my NM list.