tirone@acsu.buffalo.edu (stephen t tirone) (05/23/91)
Dear rec.birders, I will be in Albuquerque, NM for about a week around July 4, and would like to do some birding while I am there. Can anyone recommend some good birding spots around that area? Thanks, Steve tirone@acsu.buffalo.edu
sandee@sun8.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) (05/24/91)
In article <77564@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> tirone@acsu.buffalo.edu (stephen t tirone) writes: > I will be in Albuquerque, NM for about a week around July 4, >and would like to do some birding while I am there. Can anyone >recommend some good birding spots around that area? The nice thing about Albuquerque (one of the nice things, actually), is that they have this great big mountain right next door and you can climb up on foot, by car, or by cable car, and get to the temperature level you like regardless of the weather or season. In the cool of the morning, walk in the brush in the arroyos just N of the cable car terminal, and search for Black-chinned Sparrow. In the heat of the afternoon, search the forest on top for Mountain Chickadee. Other places recommended : Bandelier Nat Monument, about 60 mi NW, just S of Los Alamos. Gila Mts, in the SW, a bit far for a day trip. Bosque del Apache NWR is not at its best in midsummer and terribly hot. Huntington&Zimmerman, N.M. Bird-finding Guide, covers the entire state. Not the best of guides, but good enough. Daan Sandee sandee@scri.fsu.edu Supercomputer Computations Research Institute Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052
john@nmt.edu (John Shipman) (05/24/91)
Stephen T. Tirone (tirone@acsu.buffalo.edu) asked: +-- | Albuquerque...around July 4...good birding spots? +-- Daan Sandee (sandee@sun8.scri.fsu.edu) replied: +-- | Bosque del Apache NWR is not at its best in midsummer and | terribly hot. +-- Depends what you're used to; a Finn might find it insufferable, while someone from Egypt might need a sweater. The humidity is usually low, so I would prefer it to, say, Florida. I've spent a lot of time at this refuge in the summer, and it can be surprising. In particular, if you are diligent and identify every shorebird you can find, you may find it a pleasant place to spend a day. +-- | Huntington & Zimmerman, N.M. Bird-finding Guide, covers the | entire state. Not the best of guides, but good enough. +-- ABA Sales at 800-634-7736 should have the guide in stock. I agree with Daan's assessment of this guide. I wish someone would do a guide for New Mexico as good as Jim Lane's classic guides. The NM Ornithological Society is currently redoing the above guide; it should be out next year, and will expand the coverage. New Mexico is a terribly under-birded area and good new sites are being discovered all the time. So what would I recommend? Certainly the mountain sites around and to the north of Albuquerque would be pleasant and offer good birds. The Grasslands sod farm just west of I-25 near Los Lunas usually has nesting Mountain Plovers. I'm biased towards the southern half of the state, so I would recommend Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs and Percha Dam State Park for a good mix of water and landbirds. Water Canyon in the Magdalenas will not produce dozens of species, but it can be good for odd items like Hepatic Tanager and Red-faced Warbler. Further afield, the Bitter Lake refuge near Roswell and Rattlesnake Springs near Carlsbad Caverns can be fun; the latter site is the best place I know of for Painted Bunting, Bell's Vireo, and occasional eastern strays. As Daan says, the Gila Wilderness is a good spot, but working this whole reserve would take a month, so do your homework first to optimize the time you have. If you have the time to mount a low-grade expedition, try Clanton Canyon (Peloncillo Mts.), or even Guadalupe Canyon in the extreme SW corner of the state; it's hot and remote and the birds are great. In Guadalupe, Violet-crowned is the most common hummer and Thick-billed Kingbird is usually present, along with many other Southeast Arizona specialties. I believe all the sites I have mentioned are covered in the current edition of the D & Z guide. Good luck, and please post your results! -- John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, NM/john@jupiter.nmt.edu ``Let's go outside and commiserate with nature.'' --Dave Farber
sorrell@triton.unm.edu (05/28/91)
In article 4244 Steve wants to know about birding in Albuquerque.
Is he coming west for the first time? Is he looking for particular
species? Tell us what, and we can tell you where to look.
Do you need a number to call for advice when you get here? July
is probably the beginning of the least productive time for birding
here, so you will have to work harder.
There is a vast range of microclimes between the Sandia Mtns in the
east (10,600 feet) and the Rio Grande Bosque in the west (4000 feet).
The Rio Grande Nature Center is a wet habitat in the high desert,
home of wood ducks and black phoebes. Corrales and Bernalillo can
show you Lewis' woodpecker and western flycatchers, though you might
have to go to the Zunis for Hammonds flycatcher. The South Valley has
Mississippi kites. Burrowing owls and bank swallows as well as the
ubiquitous roadrunner and other urban species are found all over
town.
You could spend a productive week right in and near the city,
before venturing to the Jemez, Sangre de Cristo, or Zuni Mountains
which are all within day trip distance. Going south to the
Sacramentos or the Gila wilderness would take more time.
Mail me direct for answers to more specific questions.
Penny,
internet: sorrell@triton.unm.edu pmurphy@polaris.cv.nrao.edu (Pat Murphy) (06/05/91)
Don't forget the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, about 1.5 hours south of Albuquerque on I-25. I used to live in Socorro and always enjoyed visiting that refuge -- especially in winter when the whooping cranes were around. - Pat Murphy pmurphy@nrao.edu ...!uunet!nrao.edu!pmurphy -- ============================================================================ | Patrick P. Murphy, Ph.D. Internet: PMurphy@nrao.edu | | Scientific Programming Analyst Bitnet: PMurphy@NRAO | | National Radio Astronomy Observatory Span/Hep: 6654::PMurphy | | Edgemont Road UUCP: uunet!nrao.edu!pmurphy | | Charlottesville, VA 22903-2475 Phone: (804) 296-0372 | | "...but I'm feeling much better now!" --- Night Court, many episodes | ============================================================================