ABA Reportable in New Mexico – and Then Some, though no Wood-Rail, Part 2, July 2013

This is the second part of my 4-day New Mexico birding trip, featuring stops in northern NM.

Day 3 – Los Alamos Mountains

Since my stop in the Magdalena Mountains on Day 2 was not very fruitful, I still had a number of targets from montaine habitats.  But given my limited success the day before, I wondered if those montaine birds would even be possible.  I contacted local birder Jerry Friedman, who I had met on my last northern NM trip, and he suggested the American Springs trail northwest of Los Alamos because a recent Audubon trip to that spot had found most of my targets.  We decided to meet there at dawn and try for my remaining woodland targets, hoping for better luck than down in the Magdalenas.

The American Springs trail is in the area of the massive Los Alamos forest fire that occurred in 2011.  Although there were some mature Ponderosas in the area, most were burned to the ground in the fire.  Now 2 years after the fire, vegetation is definitely returning though the area has been in an intense drought for some time.  As a result most of the area is now very open with low grasses and brush.  The small stand of Ponderosas close to the parking area was full of birds when we arrived – including numerous Dusky Flycatchers (#21) and an Olive-Sided Flycatcher (#22), along with Pygmy Nuthatches, Creepers, Plumbeous Vireos, etc.  My statebird map for Olive-Sided is quite complete in the western part of its range, but very spotty in the east where it is a less common species.

As we got into the open areas Dusky’s were everywhere, along with Spotted and Green-tailed Towhees, a few White-crowned Sparrows, and even a pair of Kestrels – few if any of these would have been in this area before the fire.  When we arrived at a small stand of Ponderosas that survived the fire we found a family of Olive-sided Flycatchers and a likely family group of Grace’s Warblers (#23).  It seemed like the woodland birds were concentrated in the very limited remaining stands of surviving mature trees. 

Our last stop along the trail was at a creek crossing that featured steep slopes down to a dry creek bed.  The area had a few live trees and some dead but standing trees, along with a fair amount of brush in the creek bed.  The first birds we found were a family of Gray Flycatchers (#24) at the edge of the ravine.  In the dead trees were a family of Hairy Woodpeckers and a likely family group of 4 Flickers – just about the only site with standing dead trees in the area.  Down in the creek bed were numerous Towhees of both species, a MacGillivray’s Warbler surprisingly 30 ft off the ground in a tree, and a Virginia’s Warbler (#25).  I now have seen this species throughout most of its regular range in the southwest.

That was 5 for 5 for my realistic woodland targets, so we headed back to the car most happy with our results.

Next stop was the Camp May ski area to try for my higher elevation targets.  Though I didn’t get any new statebirds, this was a nice area with a couple new birds for the trip – Gray-headed Junco and Red-naped Sapsucker.

Although it was now late morning and temps had risen well into the 80s, we decided to drop down out of the mountains to head to some nearby sage habitat to try for Sage Sparrow.  Certainly not the best time of day and best weather to try for these birds, but I was running out of targets to try for.  We arrived at the sagebrush area near El Rito and started walking through the vegetation, stopping occasionally to play some tape.  In the first few minutes all we could find was 2 distant Ravens and a Horned Lark flyover so it wasn’t looking very promising.  But a little later I heard a couple distant chip notes, and found a Sage Sparrow perched on top of one of the sages (#26).  We later had a classic view of the bird running across the desert with its tail cocked up.  My Sage Sparrow statebird map is pretty spotty – I’ve had troubles finding this bird in quite a number of locations.

The last stop of the day was to try for Black Swifts at Jemez Falls – the only reliable location for them in NM.  The local advice to find these birds is to be at the falls at dawn or dusk and hope that you can get brief views of one of a small number of swifts that nest at this site.  When I arrived at the Jemez Campground at 5:30 to begin the hike to the top of the falls I found numerous barricades and signs that said the trail to the falls was closed due to flooding.  But just as I got out of the car to try to see if there were other options to get to the falls, I heard the twittering calls of swifts overhead.  I looked up to see a pair of swifts passing directly overhead – they were really large and all dark – 2 Black Swifts (#27)!  Boy was I lucky.  The only other time I’ve seen Black Swifts was in CA in 1983 – 30 years ago.  What a way to end an excellent day of birding.

Day 4 – Maxwell NWR and Other Northern NM Locations

I started the day in riparian habitat along the Pecos River near the town of Ribara to try for Red-headed Woodpeckers.  Multiple birds were reported at two different locations along the river here back in early June, and although the report was now 45 days old, I was optimistic that they would still be around.  But despite excellent directions to the locations, I had no luck with the woodpeckers.  Though seeing Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, and Lazuli Buntings in the area was nice.

The next stop was Maxwell NWR to search for Eastern Kingbird, several grassland targets (Cassin’s and Grasshopper Sparrows, Dickcissel, Long-billed Curlew), and maybe some shorebirds.  Given the significant drought that has rocked this area for a couple years, vegetation in the grasslands in northern NM had been minimal.  As a result there had been no Grasshopper Sparrows or Dickcissels reported from this area this year on e-bird, and only 1 recent Cassin’s Sparrow report.  Despite these conditions (or maybe because of them?) this had been a good year for nesting Curlews.  But this part of NM had received quite a bit of rain of late, with standing water in all the refuge impoundments, and a lush carpet of green grass growing on the plains.  So maybe the grassland birds would be having a late nesting season and be more cooperative even though it was late July.  And would the Curlews still be around?

It turned out that Eastern Kingbirds were quite easy (#28), with one or more birds seen at four locations, along with the Cassin’s and Western Kingbirds.  My Eastern Kingbird statebird map pretty much matches the normal range for this species that covers certainly much more than just the eastern US.

My first set of stops in grasslands yielded a number of singing Vesper and Lark Sparrows, but none of my targets.  I then got to an area with tall grasses that seemed good for Grasshopper.  Far in the distance I saw a small sparrow perched on a low twig.  With 50X scope views I could tell it was a singing Grasshopper Sparrow (#29).  The bird was so far away, that I faintly heard its buzzy song a full second or two after I saw it sing.  A couple stops at the lakes yielded some new waterfowl for the trip list, but no new shorebirds.  Then I found a grassy area with low mesquite that seemed good for Cassin’s.  I got out of the car and gave a couple high squeaks and a pair of Cassin’s Sparrows popped right out (#30).  I didn’t have any Dickcissels or Curlews at the refuge, but it was a very successful stop nonetheless.  My Cassin’s Sparrow statebird map covers much of this species normal range, plus MA as an extreme vagrant.

On the way out of the refuge I stopped at a flooded field to try for shorebirds and found a Lesser Yellowlegs (#31), 2 Solitary’s, a Spotted and a Killdeer.  And 2 Burrowing Owls were in the adjacent prairie dog town.  The last two stops of the trip were at Springer Lake and Stubblefield Lake where I got a few new species for the trip, including an immature Franklin’s Gull, and a Ring-necked Duck which is quite good for NM in July.  Nice to have a rarity as the last new species.

The Trip by the Numbers…

I added 31 birds to my NM statelist, which was way over my initial expectations of 18-20.  That gives me 283 for the state which is 19 over the ABA reporting threshold.  NM is now my 42nd ABA reportable state – only 7 more Lower 48 states (plus DC) to go.  I tallied 164 species for the trip, bolstered by the addition of the Bosque del Apache NWR stop to my itinerary and all the waterbirds there.  And although this was certainly a very successful trip, it sure would have been nice if the Wood-Rail had stayed around just a couple more days.

Northern New Mexico - 35 New Statebirds, March 2013

With a business trip in the Rockies I was able to add a little extra birding time to work on my New Mexico state list.  My NM list was just at 197, I had never been to northern NM, and had done only limited winter birding in NM, so there were quite a number of possibilities for me.  Although my initial planning concentrated on birding the Sandia Mountains including the Rosy-Finches, I soon realized that there would be many other possibilities in the general area.  So I expanded my research, reached out to some local birders for advice, and put together a plan where I hoped for about 21 new statebirds.  But this included a number of wintering birds that could have moved north by then, so I would have to get lucky with some late wintering individuals in order to reach or exceed my goal.  Another complication was that the area has been under an extreme drought for a couple years, so some of the wetland areas might actually be dry now, obviously limiting my chances on waterbirds.

My first stop was at Maxwell NWR in northern NM, with targets being a number of prairie and water birds.  The first bird I saw at the refuge was a shrike that turned out to be a late adult Northern Shrike (statebird #1).  Later on I found several Loggerheads, providing good comparisons.  With a quick stop at the headquarters I found out that only Lake 13 had any water, and many of the waterfowl had already moved on.  Undeterred, I made my way to Lake 13 where I quickly found the first of several Bald Eagles (#2).  The lake was full of waterfowl – principally a good mix of dabblers and some Canada Geese.  But before I could start my search through the waterfowl I noticed some Greater Yellowlegs on the far shore.  When I starting scanning the shoreline with my scope I noticed a number of smaller passerines flitting about – Horned Larks at first, then joined by a number of Longspurs.  Even at several hundred yards I could tell they were Chestnut-collared Longspurs – I estimated 100 birds (#3).  Couldn’t pick out any other longspur species at that distance though.  In my statebird map below, I’ve now seen Chestnut-collared in 5 states as a migrant/wintering bird and 3 in its breeding territory.

 

Next with a scan of the waterfowl I found 2 white geese that turned out to be Ross’s (#4) and 2 male Common Mergansers (#5).  There were also a number of gulls there – 65 Ring-bills and 1 adult and 1 second cycle California which are pretty good for NM. 

Then with a drive around the refuge I ran into many migrating Mountain Bluebirds (#6) and the first of several Downy Woodpeckers for the trip (#7).  Now I only need Downy in AZ for a clean sweep of all the continental US states.  One of my last birds was a sub-adult Golden Eagle – not a new statebird but a great bird nonetheless.  A key miss was Magpie which is resident in the area.  And I guess I was too late for the Tree Sparrows and Lapland Longspurs that are supposed to winter there.

Next stop was nearby Stubblefield Lake – though I forgot to ask at the refuge if it still had water so I wasn’t sure if the trip would be for naught.  En route to Stubblefield I flushed another Golden Eagle and saw several other Bald Eagles.  When I arrived at the lake there was only a bit of water left, but it was teeming with waterfowl.  Mixed in with 22 Common Mergs were 2 Red-breasted Mergansers (#9) which were a bit of a surprise.  A quick stop at Spring Lake to the south yielded no more statebirds, but it did have the only Eared Grebes and Western Grebe for the trip.

Next stop would be Santa Fe.  En route along I-25 while going through a nice area of pinyon-juniper habitat I saw a bird perched atop one of the pines that even at highway speeds was an obvious Pinyon Jay (#9).  That was lucky!  Pinyon Jays can be pretty tough to find, so I’m happy to have seen them now in 6 states. 

The key target in Santa Fe was a private feeding station that has had a group of Common Grackles all winter.  I was able to get the location of the feeding station from e-bird, but had no access to the feeders.  I decided to go to the spot anyway, and hoped to be lucky with the grackles.  When I arrived I found a Great-tailed Grackle and a number of typical feeder birds, but no Common Grackles.  I had to come back through Santa Fe later on the trip so maybe I’d stop by there again.

Next I headed to Albuquerque, with the first stop being the Rio Grande Nature Center, not only for birding, but also to get some local advice for the targets in the park and the Sandias.  I arrived at 4:30 just before it closed at 5, so I spent much of that time getting some very helpful information.  Before they closed I was able to see the staked-out male Hooded Merganser at the pond on the refuge (#10) – a sweep of the mergs for the day!  And I found a cooperative Black-capped Chickadee (#11) with Mountain Chickadees.  My states with Black-caps cover most of its range with the exception of ND where my list is still less than 100, and some where it has a very limited range.

Next stop was the Tingley Beach and fishing area where Neotropic Cormorants had been reported off and on.  The Neotropics turned out to be quite easy there – I had 18 perched in one tree at one point (#12).  Also had a Double-crested for good comparison.  That was my 6^th state for Neotropics – a bird that is expanding in the west.  The Common Goldeneyes that had spent the winter there had moved on though.

Now it was almost dusk and I headed back to the Rio Grande Nature Center to try for Western Screech-Owl.  I played some “tape” (actually played the BirdTunes app recording) but had no luck.  Although I struck out on the last bird of the day, it had been a most successful day.

The next morning I started my day pre-dawn en route up to Sandia Crest.  The New Mexico birdfinding guide mentioned that Saw-whets are possible just uphill from the Capulin Spring Campground.  So I pulled over near the campground entrance and played some tape.  Just a few seconds later a Saw-whet responded (#13).  On these trips I feel like I’ve been successful with nightbirds if I can get even just one new statebird tick – so I guess I was successful with the nightbirds on this trip.  Then I headed up to the crest at 10,600+ feet especially to try for the Rosy-Finches.  The latest news was although the restaurant at the crest was closed, the Rosy-Finches were still coming to the feeders.  I quickly found the 2 feeders in the dim pre-sunrise light and positioned the car so I could view them from the driver’s seat if need be.  But then I noticed that the feeders looked empty, so I walked up to both and they were completely picked clean – not a seed to be seen in or under either feeder!  They must have been empty for some time.  Are visiting birders supposed to bring seed to fill the feeders?  My hopes for Rosy-Finches were dashed.  But I decided to stick around until sunrise in hopes that some of the other high altitude finches might be around.  While standing there in the 26 degree chill (underdressed I’m afraid), a flock of 50-60 Rosy-Finches appeared over the restaurant, circled a few times, then disappeared back over the cliff on the other side.  Not nearly close enough to ID as to species, but certainly Rosy-Finch sp.  Then I noticed a few Juncos coming in below the feeders, so maybe there was hope that the finches too would return remembering when the feeders used to have seed.  A bit later I heard some finch-like song that I didn’t recognize coming from the edge of the parking lot.  A minute later 3 chunky finches flew overhead and landed in the pines at the restaurant – Pine Grosbeaks (#14) – good birds for NM!  And although my statebird map looks pretty spotty, it’s starting to match the typical range for this bird.

When I stopped looking at the grosbeaks I noticed there was a bird sitting on one of the feeders – a Black Rosy-Finch (#15).  It flew to the ground and fed in the parking lot with some juncos for a while.  Over the next 90 minutes small groups of 2-8 Rosy-Finches came in, briefly checked out the very empty feeders, then flew back over the cliff.  During that time I was able to see 2 Brown-caps (#16) and 1 Gray-Crowned (#17), the rest being Blacks.  Given the lack of food at the feeders I felt very lucky.

Next search was for Three-Toed Woodpeckers just below the crest.  I had gotten local information about a pair nesting a short distance away.  During a brief 15-minute walk I heard a Hairy, and a Downy-like call (could that one have been Three-toed?).  But I was getting pretty cold and headed back to the car.  En route uphill back to the car I was definitely feeling the effects of the altitude, and didn’t know if I should go slower to catch my breath or faster to get into the warm car.  I decided on the latter, and could hardly breathe when I got inside the car.  With ears ringing and short of breath I decided I should get down off the mountain as soon as I could.  A few hundred feet downhill I came upon a flock of siskins “gritting” in the road – I guessed easily 100 birds.  While scanning through them I found a couple Red Crossbills also in the road (#18), which soon grew to 20 birds.  I got some OK phonescoped photos of some of the more photogenic males perched nearby as well as some in the road. 

While watching the Crossbills I heard some singing finches nearby which turned out to be Cassin’s Finches (#19).  That was quite a nice stop.  My Cassin’s finch coverage now pretty closely matches its typical range.  Then less than a mile down the mountain a pair of woodpeckers flew over the road and landed nearby.  I hopped out and saw that they were Three-toed Woodpeckers (#20).  I didn’t make any other stops on the way down, instead riding slowly with the windows down.  Siskins were abundant on the entire ride – I was never out of earshot of singing birds.  And Cassin’s Finches were singing at multiple spots.  That gave me 8 new statebirds from the mountains – and some pretty good ones too.

Next stop was at the Tijeras Ranger Station in the foothills on the south side of the Sandias.  While walking a nice loop trail through sage and pinyon-juniper habitat I found 2 of my targets – a pair of Juniper Titmice (#21) and several Townsend’s Solitaires (#22).  That’s just about my last likely state for Juniper Titmouse.  And now I had already exceeded my goal for the trip with a lot of birding to come.  However, no luck with Sage Thrashers that had been seen there earlier in the month.

Then on to nearby Tres Pistolas Canyon for some dry foothills birding.  Before I got to the trailhead I heard a thrasher singing that turned out to be the first of several Curve-billed Thrashers (#23).  Somehow I had missed that one in southeastern NM last year so it was good to finally check this one off.  That was my only statebird for this spot, but I enjoyed seeing many Scrub Jays and hearing numerous Townsend Solitaires in full song.

Next I was heading south of Albuquerque en route to Bosque del Apache NWR.  Along the way there was a spot where Burrowing Owls were reported on e-Bird.  The spot was just called “Grasslands” with no details, so I hoped the location had been selected correctly in e-Bird.  I arrived at the spot which turned out to be an area for a future development – paved roads built but no houses.  I started to scan the area and found a couple prairie dogs, so I was optimistic I was in the right spot.  Then with a bit more scanning I found 2 Burrowing Owls looking at me from their hole (#24).  That’s the third state where I’ve added this species to my statelist based solely on e-Bird data (NM, ID, NV).  E-Bird can be really valuable for a lot of these searches, though not always.  It seems information on e-Bird can be more focused on identification and less on providing specific locations and tips on finding the bird.

Then onto Bosque del Apache.  There had been no recent posts from the refuge on e-Bird nor the listserve, so my first stop was at the refuge headquarters to get some updates.  Some white geese were still around, so that gave me hope for Snow Geese, and the Harris’ Sparrow last reported at their feeder a week ago was still around too.  (That was a surprise – would have thought no e-Bird sightings for over a week meant it was gone.)  I walked over to the window to see the feeding station and found a couple Gambel’s Quail (#25), and within 30 seconds found the Harris’ Sparrow (#26) feeding with a number of White-crowns.  The map of my Harris’ states really depicts its penchant for vagrancy – in addition to seeing it in states in its typical central US wintering range, I’ve now seen it in 3 western and 4 northeastern states as a rarity.

Then out on the refuge I found the flock of white geese which I estimated to be 670 birds.  Although the first birds I saw were Snow Geese (#27), I realized that most were Ross’s – perhaps 400 of them.  That was by far the most Ross’ I’ve seen in one flock or in one day for that matter.  A large flock of Tree Swallows was also feeding over that same impoundment, and it took me the better part of 20 minutes looking through them to finally find an early Violet-Green (#28), filling in one of my last states for that species.  That was the last of my new statebirds for the refuge, as I was unsuccessful in finding a pair of Carolina Wrens that had been wintering on the refuge.  Though I did have 7 species of shorebirds there (including an early Western Sandpiper).  That gave me another exciting day with 16 new statebirds, and 85 species for the day.

The next morning I started pre-dawn at Embudito Canyon on the west side of the Sandias with Scaled Quail being my key target.  This was a beautiful spot which featured numerous Canyon Towhees, gorgeous Black-throated Sparrows, and Curve-billed Thrashers, but no gallinaceous birds.  Best I could do was some Gambel’s Quail at a feeder back in suburbia.  I had spent some time trying for Scaled Quail in southern NM last year – guess it’s my nemesis bird for NM.  En route through Albuquerque I stopped at a wintering spot for a Peregrine Falcon, but I think it already headed north.  With 2 consecutive misses I wondered if my statebird luck was running out.

Next stop was back at the Rio Grande Nature Center to try for Eastern Bluebirds, which I was told are now nesting there.  It had gotten pretty windy, so I was a bit concerned about finding them.  But I went to a spot suggested by the folks at the Nature center and quickly found a flock of 4 birds (#29).  That fills one of my last gaps for Eastern Bluebird in my statebird map.  And I guess I was back on track.

I bid farewell to Albuquerque and headed north with a stop yet again in Santa Fe to try for the Common Grackles.  But I only saw the typical feeder birds, so didn’t waste much time and headed north of Santa Fe toward the Ohkay Owingeh Fishing Lakes.  En route I had a flyover Black-billed Magpie (#30) – I would eventually see 9 others later in the day.  Although this was on the southern edge of its range, should would have hated to miss such a showy bird that is typically easy to see across the western part of the country (that was my 14^th state for this species). 

I got to the fishing lakes, parked at the gate, and started the ½ mile walk into the area.  There I ran into another birder who knew the area very well.  He asked if I could ID small dark geese, and he pointed out what turned out to be 2 Cackling Geese (#31) in with some Canadas.  Earlier in the day he had some Common Goldeneyes on the river (and even some Barrow’s there earlier in the month), but we could only find Buffleheads.  He suggested another option would be to look for the Goldeneyes up river as I headed up north.

The next planned stop was up to Eagle Nest Lake State Park, and en route decided to try for Goldeneyes where the river paralleled the roadway.  On my second stop sure enough I found a Common Goldeneye (#32) in the river with some Buffleheads.  Then up to the beautiful area with Eagle Nest Lake.  The lake was in a bowl with several square miles of grasslands, surrounded by mountains covered in conifers.  I had lots of raptors around the lake and grasslands including 9 Bald Eagles, 1 Golden Eagle, and 1 late Rough-legged Hawk (#33).  With the exception of the upper Midwest where I’ve done no winter birding, I’ve now seen Rough-legs in most or its regular states.

The lake itself was 99% frozen, but the small portion that was open had quite a number of waterfowl including a pair of Greater Scaup (#34) – another good bird for NM, along with a Common Goldeneye and 28 Common Mergs.  One adult California Gull was a good find.

The last stop of the trip was on a bit of a whim to try for Dipper.  I needed Dipper for my statelist, but wasn’t thinking I would get into the right habitat on this trip.  But I did an e-Bird search and found that a Dipper had been reported recently from Cimarron Canyon State Park which was just to the east of Eagle Nest Lake and along my route.  So everything was falling into place.  However, the state park was a long narrow park in the canyon, with likely lots of potential Dipper habitat.  The e-Bird location was shown as being at the western end of the state park, so I decided to make a quick try at that west end.  I got to the western edge of the park, played a bit of tape, and a Dipper flew right to me (#35).  What a great way to end a great trip!

That gave me 35 new statebirds, way over my goal of 21.  And although I did miss a few of the local wintering species that had been reported earlier in the month, with my late trip I was able to add at least a couple as early spring migrants.  And for my statebird maps, filling in NM sure has a bigger visual impact than finding a new statebird in one of the smaller northeast states.  Plus I had a very respectable 120 species for the trip (all entered into e-Bird).  Now with 232 species on my NM statelist, that's my 44th state with more than 200 species, and I’m slowly getting closer to that very high ABA reportable threshold of 264.  (Or at least that used to be the threshold when the ABA still had thresholds.)  There are quite a number of possible breeding birds in northern NM that I still need for my list – maybe a summer trip there might be enough to get over that reportable threshold.