In my effort to see more of New Mexico before I leave permanently, I decided to head south to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge for a little birding adventure.  After staying the night with my friend Steve in Los Lunas Saturday night, I headed south of Socorro, NM and went directly to the Bosque visitor’s center.  The center is very nice and had a bigger and well stocked gift shop than most places like this I’ve been to.  I wasn’t there to shop though, and after paying my $5 and checking the book for recent rarities, I started my drive around the loop.  Measuring about 12 miles, the loop is a oneway driving tour through the many different areas of the reserve.  My goal on this trip was to become familiar with my new spotting scope and hopefully spy a couple fall migrants in the process.  Well I did plenty of both.

Driving at a snail’s pace, I found the Bosque to be extremely active.  Although it was too soon for the famous Sandhill Cranes and migrating waterfowl.  I found my share of other great birds.  At one of the few permanently filled ponds I saw a couple birds I hadn’t seen since my trip to Costa Rica in 2005.  A Green Heron was putting on a nice strut along the shoreline, and plenty of Neotropic Cormorants made the stop worthwhile. 

Continuing on I located a species that I am very familiar with from my Nebraska birding years that was listed in the brochure as very rare for the area and when it does occur here it’s only in September, two Dickcissels.  Since I hadn’t startled them I quickly grabbed the camera and took a relatively ill-focused shot but one that clearly shows they were Dickcissels.  I do this just in case some know-it-all birder doesn’t believe me, and yes they exist in numbers greater than I prefer.  Especially since I bird alone, I am much more vulnerable to such doubters. 

At one stop I had a very friendly Wilson’s Warbler posing for my camera (see my photo bellow).  It posed beautifully enough for me to see it’s cute little Yamaka-like black cap they possess.  I also was treated to finding a male Vermilion Flycatcher that was a reported sighting from the day before.  I discovered a female with him at the same location that had previously gone unreported or undiscovered.  What a magnificent little bird!  I had the pleasure of watching it being harassed by a juvenile/female Rufus Hummingbird who was apparently attracted to the male’s bright red color.  The bird was obviously unimpressed with this annoyance, and eventually the hummingbird moved on to an appropriate place to feed.

All in All, I found the Bosque del Apache to be a great experience.  I spotted one life bird, a Peregrine Falcon that would have been impossible to identify without my scope.  So needless to say, I am very happy with my newest indispensable tool.  I also have a serious itch to get the additional equipment to start digiscoping.  I could have had some brilliant pictures of the Vermilion Flycatcher today, but I can’t have it all.  I will say one thing though, I’ll definitely be visiting the Bosque once more before I move, I need to see the cranes before March 2010.

PS- On a side trip through Albuquerque I birded some drainage wetlands where I saw a Sora running along the shore in the open.  A rare way to see this secretive and often hidden bird.  It was a lifer!

Life birds-

        Peregrine Falcon

        Sora