Chili Ristras are a dominant decorative theme in New Mexico. The above chili ristra at Megan and Uly's house was the first thing to greet me on my night arrival into the state. The first day's adventure will have to be posted later due to a little mix up with Andy and the photos. So we will start out the story on Day 2 in New Mexico. For those keeping score I saw 9 lifers on my first day including all three Rosy Finches...but like said before Day One will come later. For now we are starting with Day 2 in the Land of Enchantment.
Day 2 came just the same as the day before with White-winged Doves, Eurasian-collared Doves, and American Robins flying about the neighborhood. A Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon race) was on the fence before we said goodbye to Megan and started our journey south. Our goal for the day was to make it to Bosque del Apache NWR. Along the way we made a few stops like the one above. Just before entering that field by the Rio Grande Andy and I had my first and only look at a Ferruginous Hawk. At some Water Management Areas we were graced with fierce winds and lifer looks at Greater Roadrunner and Horned Lark. The day was shaping up nicely and despite the cold air and wind the skies were bright blue.
We left the water management areas and made our way to the infamous Bosque del Apache NWR. At the visitor center we learned that the Flight Deck was no longer functioning as the area that the Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes were settling. So reluctantly we circled back to the entrance ponds but just as we approached via our car a Red-tailed Hawk swooped down and took out a goose. Chaos ensured and the ponds were cleared of hundreds of Snow and Ross's Geese. We followed the geese to some nearby fields but they were too far away to see from the road so we retreated back up the road to The Owl Bar.
After having a beer we decided to give it one more go on the geese. Our target was to find some Ross's Geese in the pack of Snow Geese. After parking in the local RV park we found that the flock had moved closer to the highway so we trekked over the train tracks and spotted our birds. Surprisingly we found lots of Ross's Geese in the pack. It was a great relief to see them so easily. And to top it all off we also found my lifer Yellow-headed Blackbirds mixed in with some Red-winged Blackbirds at the RV grounds.
Snow and Ross's Geese near Bosque del Apache.
We celebrated the day and our lifers at the Socorro Springs Brewery where Andy and I had some good local beers and some delicious sandwiches. After our rewarding dinner we headed to the local store to stock up on supplies before returning to our Couchsurfing pad. I was in love with the chili section. I was beginning to really enjoy this New Mexico chili celebration!
Day 3 in New Mexico was the earliest one of the trip. We woke up by 5:30 for the morning flight at Bosque del Apache. It wasn't as grand as years past (so they say, I've never seen it) but it was still pretty nice to watch. And it was totally worth it an hour later when Andy and I spotted our lifer Aplomado Falcon perched in a tree. It quickly took off but we both had nice looks.
The temperature was still cold but the winds from the day before had subsided so Andy and I took a nice stroll on the Canyon Trail. This loop was fun to hike but we didn't see many birds. At the very beginning we had my lifer Sage Sparrow but other than that we didn't see anything else except for one lone Say's Phoebe.
At this point in the trip I already had 20 lifers and a few more on the way in the days ahead. We said our goodbyes to the refuge and took the interstate south for a night in Las Cruces. But the day wasn't over and we had a few state parks to visit before nightfall. Check back tomorrow to find out what awaited me down the road.
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