New Mexico December 16-28, 2015 (1 Viewer)

Dec 24:

There was no room in our original plans for visiting Las Cruces, just shy of the Texas border but a contact we’d made in signing up for the Caballo Christmas Bird Count let us in on a recently discovered gathering of Long-eared Owls. These Owls are difficult to see in any other season but in the winter, they often gather together to roost in communal groups. Having access to one of these gatherings was not an event we could turn away from. In the morning then, we drove south about two and a half hours to an area east of Las Cruces by the name of Dripping Springs Natural Area. The lies at the base of the Organ Mountains, a natural playground for rock climbers and hikers. For us, a certain juniper and oak filled arroyo was to be our morning’s focus.
After checking in at the Visitor Center, we followed explicit directions and found ourselves in a narrow, dry wash or arroyo. The wash was shallow at first then deepened until the ground was well above our heads. We picked our way carefully and as quietly as possible, sharing the space with several Canyon Wrens. Scaring the first owls took longer than we expected and we wondered if we had chosen the wrong arroyo. Eventually though, owl after owl flew out of the dense scrub away from us but we barely got anything but a quick view. We climbed up out of the arroyo, on opposite sides, hoping to see them from above but they would always manage to see us first. Still, from this vantage point, we got much better looks and I managed a couple of very short videos. The cactus in the surrounding desert was distracting in the many varied forms so when we’d felt like the owls needed no more disturbance, I focused for a while on the plants around me. Not just for photos either; most were highly formidable in their defense systems.
A Hermit Thrush and Mockingbird were seen, feeding on what I think were fruiting hackberry trees. A pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a Spotted Towhee shared the parking lot with us as we left for our original destination, two hours back north.
In hindsight, there was another longer and larger arroyo that led to a canyon behind the Visitor Center that may have been easier to explore. Had we failed to see any owls, we might have stayed to investigate that option.

Just a few miles outside Kingston, we stopped for a drive up North Percha Road which wound its graveled way up into the Black Range Mountains to 6500 feet, an elevation we hadn’t seen in a few days. No specific target birds, though we always approach new areas with birder’s optimism. Northern Flickers, the western red-shafted variety, were in calling from the hillsides and Scrub Jays were abundant. Juncos were everywhere, darting off the road into the junipers and grasses. We saw more Gambel’s Quail and a soaring Red-tailed Hawk before we turned around at what appeared to be an old homesite, a stone chimney all that remained.
A pair of small ponds surprised us with several ducks; Gadwalls, Mallards and a Ring-necked.
Ten more minutes of driving brought us to the Black Range Lodge where we were to spend the next three nights. Meeting our hosts, Catherine and Gary, and settling in to our second floor rooms left us just enough time for a short evening walk on Main Street.
The sign at the head of the road made us feel most welcome.

Dripping Springs:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26434609
N. Percha Road:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26438807

Dec 25:

Determined to reduce our time on the road today, we set off on foot in the not too early morning to explore the Forest Service road that led out the back end of Kingston and up into the Black Range. The road followed a fork of Percha Creek, a small, stony and shallow stream, climbing very slowly through open forest that is typical of winter woodlands. Though we began with House Finches and Juncos at the Lodge, we were soon hearing the raspy call of the Mountain Chickadee and the nasal sound of White-Breasted Nuthatches. We passed a pair of Hermit Thrushes in a tangled thicket while a Red-breasted Nuthatch called far up the hillside. Our best find was well up the coarse gravel road, a mixed flock containing a male Williamson’s Sapsucker. Brief but good views were gotten as it moved away with a Hairy Woodpecker, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and more White-breasted Nuthatches. We missed identifying the Bluebirds that were also in that section of wood as we were focused on the uncommon Sapsucker. On our return, a group of Stellar’s Jays moved high through the evergreens, seeming much shyer than their reputation as the bold visitors to picnic areas. I tried to envision the place in the breeding season. Cordilleran Flycatchers, Grace’s Warblers, Band-tailed Pigeons and Spotted Owls could all be there. All we had to do was come back.
Enjoying our walk and trying not to think of reports of a potentially disrupting winter storm “Goliath”, we backtracked through town and started up Rt. 152, a mountain pass of a road, closed to traffic due to ice at 8000 foot elevations. Bird life was nearly non-existent but we did have fine views of the late morning sun on distant snow-crowned mountains. A mile west and a few hundred feet up, we decided to return for lunch and go back to north Percha Road for further exploration.

Enjoying our walk and trying not to think of reports of a potentially disrupting winter storm “Goliath”, we backtracked through town and started up Rt. 152, a mountain pass of a road, closed to traffic due to ice at 8000 foot elevations. Bird life was nearly non-existent but we did have fine views of the late morning sun on distant snow-crowned mountains. A mile west and a few hundred feet up, we decided to return for lunch and go back to north Percha Road for further exploration.
And so that afternoon, skies still blue with no hint of any troublesome weather, we found ourselves driving about four miles into the hills directly worth of Kingston to an elevation just over 6800 feet before we found ourselves descending towards Mineral Creek. At that point, well into Gila National Forest, the road was beginning to deteriorate beyond our comfort in the rental sedan. We reluctantly turned back, explorer’s fever overcome by the low clearance of our vehicle, stopping occasionally at any hint of bird life. The usual Northern Flickers and Scrub Jays passed over or called and, of course, the always interesting variety of Junco subspecies was always underfoot. The two small farm ponds again held a few water birds. Fortunately, I snapped a photo of the uppermost pond, which, besides a single Green-winged Teal, had a half dozen Mallards. Three of the Mallards did not have the typical dark spot in the bill in the center of their orange bill. These were likely a Mexican form of the common Mallard or a cross between the two.
At the junction with Rt. 152 again, we stopped to watch a dozen or more of Bluebirds hunting from the low trees and power lines. Nice lighting from the western sun gave us plenty of time to study both Eastern and Western species. One final bird that flew in at that point was arguably the least common - a Yellow-bellied sapsucker. Shown as rare in Sibley’s western guide for western New Mexico, it was a familiar species for us, especially as a winter yard bird. This bird was a male with red feathering in all the right places. Later, we were told by our New Mexico contacts that this species has been extending it’s winter range. I have since read there is the possibility, like the Mallards, of hybridization with the Red-naped Sapsucker. The bird moved on and we did too.
At the lodge, Catherine and Gary unexpectedly made Christmas dinner for not only us but for another dozen guests. We could not help then but have a pleasant evening, full of good food, warm and readying for tomorrow’s Christmas Bird Count.

Kingston:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26445254
Percha Road:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26453388

Dec 26:

Our section of the Caballo Christmas Bird Count was the Percha Dam State Park just south of the town with the debatably attractive name of “Truth Or Consequences”. We got on the road early to meet with two long time participants at the park. The drive on Rt. 152 from Kingston through the town of Hillsboro was a pleasant one. It begins with somewhat steep hills and tight curves and allows intermittent views of fast moving Percha Creek. The latter part, part Hillsboro, was through rolling hills and a desert landscape. 
We were dressed for the arctic as freezing temperatures and strong, biting winds were forecast for the day. Our partners for the day, John G. and John B., from El Paso, Texas, joined us in the parking lot as we were viewing a pair of Pyrrhuloxias.
The habitat at the park was quite varied; we had still water, moving water, open fields, thickets, mature trees, etc. The expectations for this section are for a list of 80 or more species. The four of us worked every corner of the park, never escaping the wind or cold, but fell far short of the average. Still, we added a good number of species to our trip list.
The still water both above and below the dam had several birds - Black Phoebe, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Killdeer and a few Spotted Sandpipers working the banks. Green-winged Teal, Mallards and Buffleheads floated downstream. An immature Bald Eagle gave them all a fright but passed without much of a glance downwards.
Passerines included White-crowned Sparrows in greatest numbers though Chipping Sparrows were also abundant and new for the trip list. A Verdin provided just a quick glimpse in a brush pile never to be refound. Ruby-crowned Kinglets fidgeted here and there, easily identified by their quick and constant movement. Our companions were mildly excited by an Eastern Phoebe, apparently at the edge of its range.
While we watched bluebirds, both Eastern and Western, huddled in the trees, a Peregrine Falcon sped through with apparent intent on dining elsewhere. Also overhead were a constant flow of Sandhill Cranes and Ravens, which our fellow birders were confident to call all Chihuahuan.
After a quick lunch and a break in the car from the ever present wind, a walk through a manicured grove of pecan trees produced none of the hoped for Sapsuckers. Say’s Phoebes, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers and the yellow-throated race of Yellow-rumped Warblers filled that gap. Across a drainage ditch in a cornfield, two Snow Geese kept company with a good number of Canada Geese while on our side of that ditch were a few Meadowlarks picking through an old cornfield. Back near the parking area and completing our circuit of the park, we add several crested Phainopepla’s, coal black and red-eyed.
Not long after 2pm, snow flurries fell for the second time that day. That was enough for Liz and I to let our companions carry on to the driving portion and the final leg of the count. We drove back through intermittent snowfall, arriving to an inch on the ground in Kingston. The warmth and comfort of the rambling old lodge was everything we wanted for the rest of the day. That and to conjecture on what “Goliath” might have in store for us.

Percha Dam State Park:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26482658

Dec 27:

Daylight revealed our worst fears. Snow was 8 inches in the parking lot with drifts to 11. We were due at the airport in less than 22 hours so the pressure was on to get a plan together to get out of there. Most of the guests had no plans to stay either so we all pitched in to shovel the lot to the point cars could reach the street - which was also 8 inches deep. So, that might have been almost pointless except that Catherine and Gary managed to contact a friend with a rugged 4 wheel drive that could give us tire tracks to follow at least 15 miles to Hillsboro where the snow was reported to be much less deep. One individual, without much thought or apparent experience, drove out of the lot in his two wheel drive pickup, immediately sliding into a deep ditch. That took an hour to get him out so the rest of us could pass. But eventually we formed a train of cars and trucks, got to the end of Main Street where, in a stroke of good luck, Sierra County snow plows were waiting. Relief and appreciation flowed in equal amounts.
From that point, we had a tense but uneventful drive to Albuquerque, often in high winds and horizontal snow. Many hours later, rental car returned and packing for plane travel in our motel room, television news revealed the extent of “Goliath’s” damage. The east-west interstate of I-40 was closed, the airport was working to clear the runways to work on its backlog of flights and motels everywhere were filling up. Heading east, the storm was wreaking more havoc ahead of us. The pair of flights and drive home cost us an extra 3 and a half hours, just part of the price to pay for a winter trip to New Mexico.