Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico were exciting birding in beautiful surroundings, but Kansas was not our cup of tea. We found the Great Plains just that… greatly plain and flat with boring landscape. As a child in Minnesota I remember looking for the first American Robin as the herald of spring, on the Apalachicola National Forest Chuck watched for the Eastern Kingbird. We found it ironic to be told by a campground host in Kansas that they were looking forward to their herald, the Turkey Vulture. In the middle of the Cimarron National Grasslands, KS, we were one of only two overnight campers but the area boasted a stocked trout pond. We chatted with a couple of elderly fishermen who gifted us with two fresh trout providing a serendipitous change of dinner plans.
Clark’s & Western Grebe
At Elephant Butte, New Mexico we had the luxury of studying the extremely similar Clark’s Grebe and Western Grebe side by side. The Curve-Billed Thrashers joined us in camp, and even Gambel’s Quail
Gambel’s Quail
walked through. Our first evening there was clear and cool with the Milky Way visible. We were able to position the van to allow a view of our campfire from the van’s open sliding side door. Romantic.
The Basque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico has a wonderful visitor center with bird knowledgeable staff who pointed out the best place to see a Ross’s Goose and referred us to the Bitter Lakes NWR as a place to see our first Scaled Quail. But my favorite spot in New Mexico was the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park in Albuquerque. Well worth stopping for birders and non-birders alike. This uniquely designed center has wonderful viewing windows, and it was here we were able to see both the Mountain and Black-capped Chickadees as well as the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers side by side.
Mountain Chickadee
From a distance the Mountain Chickadee looked so cute, but when Chuck shared his pictures I was surprised at how fierce they appear; I have not been able to look at them the same since. What we saw of Albuquerque was lovely, with tiers of adobe architecture. Their care for an aesthetically appealing community is apparent, even the WalMart was not allowed to look tacky. We were told that they have more public space per capita than any area in the country. Hooray for their planners and architectural controls which care for community and quality of life over the short term profits of slap dab development.
Bottomless Lakes SP
In the middle of New Mexico, we found beautiful sink holes…Nine lakes in limestone along the Pecos River surrounded by cliffs. Bottomless Lakes State Park, just outside Roswell NM (yes, that Roswell) must be an incredibly busy spot during the summer. Thankfully, we were there off season so that the beauty of the geology and lakes could shine.
We enjoyed two nights at the Villanueva State Park, also at the banks of the Pecos River and an incredible cliff face. If the river wasn’t flowing so quickly it would have been hard to tell the difference between the water and its clay colored banks. A fly fisherman was working from the banks, and I cannot imagine that it was to catch dinner from such sediment filled river. Hopefully he was fly fishing for the Zen of it.
Black-billed Magpie
Just outside of the park, we saw our first Black-billed Magpie. Black and White is always a good wardrobe choice, though this picture does not show that they actually have a nice accent color of blue as well. To eat dinner watching the sun dapple the cliff and hear the water gurgling over rocks in the Pecos River was heavenly.