A rare
business trip to northern NM gave me an opportunity to try to fill some gaps in
my NM statelist. My NM list was 284
which was already 20 over the old ABA reportable threshold, but there are
almost always at least a few statebird targets to try for. My work site was in the mountains near the
northern edge of the state, and I would fly in and out of Albuquerque. So I could bird quite a large area and
multiple habitats with the help of some vacation time added to the trip. Most of my past birding in NM had been in the
southern and central parts of the state, so I was optimistic that I’d be
successful in adding several new birds to my NM statelist.
Surprisingly,
my eBird Needs Alert only came up with two key targets in the mountains –
Evening Grosbeak and Gray Jay. Then
there was Sage Thrasher which is regular in the sage desert almost throughout
the entire area I would be traveling through.
Prairie Falcon was another of my targets which was being reported across
the region, but apparently not very reliably sited at any one location. There were also a number of rarer migrants
that were reported passing through at the time, but the only one that seemed to
be chaseable was Dickcissel. Lastly I
still needed Western Screech-Owl for the state, so that gave me at least 6
reasonable targets to chase after.
Now to set
up the logistics... First I would try for Sage Thrasher Thursday evening after
work in Santa Fe. Although they were
more reliable at locations at the far northern edge of the state, that would
make for a much longer drive, so I hoped to find them in Santa Fe instead. Then Friday on my vacation day I would start
in the mountains for Gray Jay assuming I found the Thrasher on Thursday. Otherwise I would need to start near the
NM/CO line trying for the Thrasher for a second time before heading to the
mountains. I would swing by Fred Baca
Park in Taos along the way where Evening Grosbeaks were reliable, apparently
coming to a feeder. Then I’d head south
toward Albuquerque with stops at the Tramway Wetlands for “Mexican” Duck and
maybe Prairie Falcon, and at the Los Poblanos Open Space which might be the
most reliable spot for Dickcissel. Then
I’d end the day trying for Western Screech-Owl in Albuquerque before my flight
out the next morning.
Work ended
right on time on Thursday, and I headed to Eldorado at Santa Fe where a small number of Sage Thrashers were reported
almost daily at the Gallina Park greenbelt by an apparent local birder Rene
Laubach. With some research I found a
map of the greenbelt, and saw numerous trails winding through the high desert
scrub in and around a suburban neighborhood.
It was a large area to cover, and given the low numbers of Sage Thrashers
reported, I had a feeling it could be a long shot. But I needed to get this target here today to
avoid a 2-hour round-trip drive up to the NM line the next morning. When I arrived I could see a lot of really
nice habitat, though sage was rather limited.
I remembered that most of the western Thrashers will respond to recorded
calls, so I would concentrate my search in the patches of sage, playing some
tape as well.
Despite my logical plan, nearly an hour
into my search I had not found any Thrashers.
Though the fact that it was windy and in the upper 80’s likely didn’t
help the situation. Then I noticed a
couple birders walking my way, and amazingly it turned out to be the Laubach’s
on their daily walk. Unfortunately they
had not seen any Sage Thrashers yet that evening, but gave me some suggested
areas to look for them. With renewed
optimism, I headed to the new locations, and found more extensive sage, but
alas no Thrashers. On a brighter note,
the desert was full of migrant sparrows – especially Spizella sparrows. I ran
into numerous flocks which were mostly Brewer’s, but I also picked out
Clay-colored and Chipping along the way.
And a Say’s Phoebe and a Cassin’s Kingbird were nice consolations as
well.
That meant I
would need to start the day Friday far to the north almost to the NM/CO
stateline for a second attempt for the Thrasher. There were 3 recent reports along county
roads in the area with up to 15 Sage Thrashers, so I was very hopeful. I arrived at County Road B-51 just as it was
starting to get light – there was sage habitat as far as the eye could see to
my north. The car thermometer said it
was a crisp 28 degrees, so I decided to stay in the car a bit longer before
trying for my target. A bit later I stepped
out of the car and was serenaded by a Great Horned Owl as I scanned the sage,
but to no avail. I tried playing some
tape but still no response. I repeated
my efforts at several more stops down the road but still no birds. I was now on my 5th stop and was getting
worried. I once again played tape, this
time playing Sage Thrasher call notes, and I thought I heard a bird giving the
single call note in the distance. I
listened intently but didn’t hear anything.
I played some more tape and heard it again a couple times – did I have
my target? Then up ahead I saw a bird that
was the right size fly across the road.
Then a pair of birds popped up on the fenceline along the road edge – it
was a pair of Sage Thrashers! I had to
work hard to get just 2 birds; wonder what the other birder did to get 15 Sage
Thrashers along this road a couple weeks earlier.
NM was my
13th state for this species – 12 in its normal range plus in MA as a
vagrant. The dark blue shaded states in
my statebird map below are those where I’ve seen this species. The cross-hatched states are those in its
regular range where I still need it for my statelists.
I briefly
thought about heading north to CO (the stateline was only 3 miles away), but NM
statebirding was my goal for the day. So
I started my hour drive south heading to Fred Baca Park in downtown Taos where
Evening Grosbeaks were reported in good numbers on every recent report from
this eBird hotspot. One older report
mentioned a feeder at this location, so my plan was to look for a feeding
station somewhere in the park and hopefully find some cooperative birds. I pulled into the parking lot, and as I
stepped out the very first bird I heard was an Evening Grosbeak. After my challenges with the Sage Thrasher I guess
I was due for an easy one. I only spent
15 minutes in the park, and never found any feeders, but found at least 6 Grosbeaks
foraging in the trees and even on the lawn right next to the parking lot.
I still need
this species in a number of states throughout its regular range (the
cross-hatched states in my statebird map below), especially where it is a
regular wintering bird. Not to mention I
need it in all those other states throughout the Lower 48 where it can be seen as
a rarity in big invasion years.
Next I was
off to the Taos ski area to try for the Gray Jay. Several had been reported from the William’s
Lake trail recently, though they were not seen on every trip. Most reports also included Steller’s Jays, Nutcrackers,
and 3-Toed Woodpeckers, so this seemed to be a nice area to bird. However I was concerned about the elevation -
the trailhead is at 10,000 ft and rises from there up to the lake. You see I am much more prone to altitude
sickness than most people, so I need to be extremely cautious hiking at those
kinds of elevations. But knowing my
limitations, I felt like I would be OK, especially when an employee of the
Carson National Forest that I met at the beginning of the trail gave me 2
suggested locations for the Gray Jay.
The trail
passed through some nice coniferous woodlands, featuring quite a number of
Mountain Chickadees, a couple “Gray-headed” and “Pink-sided” Juncos, several
Red-breasted Nuthatches, and a couple pairs of Golden-crowned Kinglets. In the distance a calling Jay seemed to most
closely match a Clark’s Nutcracker. Then
I arrived at an old avalanche area which was the first suggested location for
the Gray Jay. They can be very tape
responsive, but none responded this time.
Then a little later I reached a talus slope, the next recommended spot,
but again no responses. I went on a bit
farther, but was having significant trouble catching my breath. When my Apple Watch measured my heart rate at
151 I decided I better turn around, unfortunately without my target. I retraced my route and when I reached the
talus slope there were two Gray Jays perched in a tree right in front of
me! I took this picture with my iPhone
as one investigated me for handouts.
Then I
returned to the avalanche area and there was yet another pair of Jays. Again these birds were inquisitive, and I took
this iPhone photo of one taking a bit of my granola bar out of my hand.
Where were
they as I headed up the trail? NM was my
14th state for Gray Jay; I still need this species in a number of states in its
range in the Rockies and Sierras, as well as in WI.
Next I
headed down to Albuquerque, with my first stop being the Tramway Wetlands. The day before a Prairie Falcon was reported
from this spot, as was a pair of Mexican Ducks which is considered to be a
separate species by some authorities including eBird. But since I didn’t pack my scope on this trip
I wasn’t expecting to have much success picking out this southwestern relative
of the Mallard. Plus I wasn’t sure how
to bird this spot. But when I finally
arrived I remembered that I birded this location during my last trip to the
area in 2013, and pulled right up to the correct spot to get a view of the wetlands. And practically right below me were 2 Mexican
Ducks in with Mallards and other dabblers.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find a Prairie Falcon despite searching nearby
perches.
The next
stop was the Los Poblanas Open Space where a couple recent reports included
multiple Dickcissels. But when I arrived
it was late afternoon on this bright sunny day with temperatures in the upper
80s (60 degrees warmers than my first stop at dawn). Not too surprisingly I didn’t see much except
for a couple quite tame Roadrunners.
After a
quick dinner stop it was time to try for Western Screech-Owl. There had been a number of recent reports in
the area, but none seemed reliable. And
1 birder mentioned Owls nesting in her Wood Duck box but they had moved
on. So it seemed that my best chance was
at the Rio Grande Nature Center. I had
actually tried for Screech-Owl here once before unsuccessfully, so maybe I’d
have better luck this time. But despite
playing tape at a number of locations around the perimeter of the site I struck
out again.
Although
it’s tough to miss the last target of the trip, I still ended up with 73
species, including 3 new NM statebirds.
That brings my statelist to 287. All
in all still a successful trip.
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