New Mexico

The San Mateo Mts, just 1.25 hr drive west of Socorro, are a seldom visited but spectacular mountain range in southwest New Mexico. Venturing to the top of Mt. Withington (10,119′) I found not only relief from the summer temps along the Rio Grande, but a unique blend of Rocky Mt and Sierra Madrean birdlife. Along the highest ridge were the likes of Clark’s Nutcracker, Red Crossbill and Band-tailed Pigeon, while in Bear Trap Canyon below, I found many Red-faced Warblers and Hutton’s Vireo. Above 9,000′ feet while camping, I heard the plaintive, descending whistle of Montezuma Quail. The 360 degree view from the top of Mt Withington is stunning to say the least.

Next day I ventured into the northern end of the Black Range, with my destination being Lookout Mt (8,900′). On the way, I noted several territories of Purple Martins, including one with 14 birds around the Poverty Creek area, When I reached the top of Lookout Mt, I was treated to a dance between a Common Raven and a Golden Eagle far below. By the time I finished watching these two, they were spiralling high above me, with the raven still nipping at the wings of the eagle. I felt blessed to be able to witness this chance encounter. Descending back toward the Rio Grande, I saw a group of Common Nighthawks, already beginning their return journey to South America.

Summer birding in the mountains of northern NM is always a treat. We began at the base of Rowe Mesa along a ponderosa pine clad escarpment. As this is an ecotone between pinyon/junioer and ponderosa, we saw a mix of birds from both habitats. Virginia’s, Grace’s and Black-throated Gray Warblers, Gray Flycatcher, Plumbeous Vireo, Hepatic Tanager, Juniper Titmouse, and Townsend’s Solitaire are all breeders here. After almost two hours of fun birding, we heading up the Pecos drainage above the village of Pecos. Stopping at the monastery just north of town, we enjoyed the ponds and lush cottonwood/willow habitat on the property. Gray Catbird, Blue Grosbeak, Bullock’s Oriole and Lesser Goldfinch were some of the highlights here. Venturing further up the canyon, we found MacGillivray’s Warbler and Green-tailed Towhee.
Next we started to climb the mountain on a forest service road. Dusky and Hommond’s Flycatchers, Orange-crowned Warbler, Williamson’s Sapsucker were all breeders we encountered. On the highest ridge, (after a hail storm that covered the ground in white) we found high altitude specialists such as Clark’s Nutcracker, Gray Jay, and Red Crossbill.
After our descent back to the valley floor, we paused at the Terrero General Store and enjoyed the hummingbird show at their feeders that included numerous southbound Rufous Hummers as well as a lone adult male Calliope, complete with streaming purple gorget feathers.