john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) (09/20/89)
I just got back from a trip to the Great Plains on the
eastern side of New Mexico to catch the fall migration.
Dates were September 13-15, and the route was roughly
Socorro-Roswell-Portales-Roswell-Carlsbad-extreme
southeast corner-Carlsbad-Cloudcroft-Alamogordo.
I added three birds to my state listing, now at 333,
and my neighbor Phil added four to his, reaching a nice
round 350 out of a potential of about 450 in the state.
This puts me at about 10th place for the ABA state
list competition, and Phil is about 5th.
The star birds were:
-- Red Knot at Holloman Lake near Alamogordo; occasional
in the state.
-- Black-billed Cuckoo at Rattlesnake Springs near
Carlsbad; two previous records for the state.
-- Swainson's Warbler at Oasis SP near Portales; *NO*
previous records for the state, to our knowledge.
Here's a full trip list.
Pied-billed, Eared, Western grebes; Am. White Pelican;
Double-crested Cormorant; Great Blue Heron; Snowy Egret;
White-faced Ibis.
Canada Goose; Green-winged and Blue-winged teal; Mallard;
N. Shoveler; Am. Wigeon; Redhead; Ruddy Duck.
Turkey Vulture; Osprey; N. Harrier; Sharp-shinned,
Cooper's, Swainson's, and Red-tailed hawks; Am. Kestrel;
Peregrine and Prairie falcons.
Northern Bobwhite; Am. Coot; Semipalmated Plover; Killdeer;
Black-necked Stilt; Am. Avocet; Greater and Lesser
yellowlegs; Willet; Spotted Sandpiper; Marbled Godwit; Red
Knot; Sanderling; Western, Least, and Stilt sandpipers;
Long-billed Dowitcher; Wilson's and Red-necked phalaropes;
Franklin's and Ring-billed gulls; Forster's and Black terns.
Rock and Mourning doves; Black-billed Cuckoo; Barn, Great
Horned, and Burrowing owls; Common Nighthawk; Common
Poorwill; Belted Kingfisher; Ladder-backed Woodpecker;
Northern Flicker.
Olive-sided Flycatcher; W. Wood-Pewee; Willow, Least,
Hammond's, ?Dusky, Gray, and ?Cordilleran flycatchers; Black
and Eastern phoebes; Vermilion Flycatcher; W. Kingbird;
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.
Cliff and Barn swallows; Steller's and Scrub jays;
Chihuahuan and Common ravens; Mountain Chickadee; Verdin;
Red-breasted Nuthatch; Cactus, Bewick's, and House Wren.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (AWAKUPO---All Warblers Are Kinglets
Until Proven Otherwise); Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; Hermit
Thrush; N. Mockingbird; Crissal Thrasher; Loggerhead Shrike;
European Starling; Warbling and ?Philadelphia Vireo.
Orange-crowned, Virginia's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, and
Townsend's warblers; Am. Redstart; Swainson's Warbler;
Ovenbird; MacGillivray's and Wilson's warblers;
Yellow-breasted Chat; Summer and Western tanagers.
Pyrrhuloxia; Black-headed Grosbeak; Lazuli Bunting (ID can
be a problem with immatures!); Green-tailed and Rufous-sided
towhees; Cassin's, Chipping, Brewer's, and Lark sparrows;
Lark Bunting; Song and Lincoln's sparrows; Dark-eyed Junco;
W. Meadowlark; Yellow-headed and Brewer's blackbirds;
Great-tailed Grackle; Brown-headed Cowbird; Northern Oriole;
House Finch; Lesser Goldfinch; House Sparrow.