New Mexico Bird Report, Thursday, February 4, 2010
Hotline New Mexico
date: February 4, 2010
compiler Patricia R. Snider
Phone: 719-846-3174
Cell phone 505-803-1807
e-mail address pinyonjay@aol.com
This is Pinyon Jay with the New Mexico Bird Report for
February 4, 2010, sponsored by the New Mexico Ornithological
Society. When phone numbers are given for private property,
please call before going to ask for permission. In ranch
country do not stray off the roads.
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Highlights: White-tailed Kite, Trumpeter Swan.
ChW reported that GREAT EGRETS have been color banded with red
leg bands, from the Great Lakes. Report bands if seen to 416-
739-5846.
A star is added for new birds to the RBA today.
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Places mentioned and a checklist of N.M. birds are in the N.M.
Bird Finding Guide. Check for earlier reports and database
or in the archives of the AZ/NM listserve. For photos of
rarities and directions to some birding sites check
http://sites.google.com/site/oldenettelspage.
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For the Bird Records Committee and North American Birds and NMOS
Field Notes please send reports to Dr. Sartor O. Williams, III,
1819 Meadowview NW, Albuquerque, NM, 87104 or to
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Birds Mentioned and Counties:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Sandoval)
Geese (Socorro)
Light Geese (Chaves)
Trumpeter Swan (Socorro)
Eurasian Wigeon (Curry)
Greater Scaup (Chaves)
Common Goldeneye (Socorro)
Hooded Merganser (Sierra, Socorro)
Common Merganser (Socorro)
Red-throated Loon (Sierra)
Red-necked Grebe (Sierra)
American White Pelican (Sierra)
White-faced Ibis (Valencia)
Turkey Vulture (Chaves)
American Bittern (Chaves)
Osprey (Sierra)
White-tailed Kite (Socorro)
Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk (Socorro)
Ferruginous Hawk (Curry)
Rough-legged Hawk (Colfax)
Golden Eagle (Colfax)
Merlin (Sierra, San Miguel)
Peregrine Falcon (Bernalillo)
Prairie Falcon (Curry)
Northern Bobwhite and Scaled Quail (Curry)
Montezuma Quail (Grant, Otero)
Sora (Sierra)
Common Moorhen (Sierra)
Sandhill Crane (Chaves, Socorro,*Bernalillo)
Dunlin (Sierra)
Thayer’s Gull (Sierra)
Great Horned Owl (Curry, Grant)
Barn Owl (Curry)
Saw-whet Owl (Otero)
Anna’s Hummingbird (Doña Ana
Williamson’s Sapsucker (Grant)
Hybrid sapsucker (Doña Ana)
Downy Woodpecker (Sierra, Chaves)
Three-toed Woodpecker (Bernalillo)
Eastern Phoebe (Doña Ana, Sierra)
Loggerhead Shrike (northeastern)
Steller’s Jay (Doña Ana)
Hutton’s Vireo (Grant)
Western Scrub-Jay (Sierra)
Pinyon Jay (*Cibola)
Bridled Titmouse (Sierra)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Doña Ana)
Brown Creeper (Sierra, Grant)
Winter Wren (Grant)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Grant)
Eastern Bluebird (Doña Ana, Santa Fe)
Western Bluebird (Doña Ana, Socorro)
Mountain Bluebird (Socorro, Doña Ana)
Gray Catbird (Socorro)
Curve-billed Thrasher (Sandoval)
Cedar Waxwing (Doña Ana, Los Alamos)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Doña Ana)
Common Yellowthroat (Sierra)
American Tree Sparrow (Colfax)
Black-chinned Sparrow (Grant)
Lark Bunting (Curry)
Sage Sparrow (Socorro)
Swamp Sparrow (Chaves)
White-throated Sparrow (Socorro)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Socorro)
Harris’s Sparrow (Chaves)
Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco (Sandoval)
Lapland Longspur (Colfax)
Pine Grosbeak (Bernalillo)
Rosy Finches (*Bernalillo, *Taos)
Cassin’s Finch (Sandoval)
Pine Siskin (Curry)
American Goldfinch (Sandoval)
Lesser Goldfinch (Sierra)
Evening Grosbeak (Sandoval)
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In Northeastern NM on January 30 JP, JO, LL, and WW did a Springer,
Abbott, Roy, Wagon Mound Loop and found up to four LOGGERHEAD
SHRIKES.
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In Bernalillo County:
KH on February 1 had six LESSER SANDHILL CRANES with the
Greaters at the Los Poblanos Open Space off of Montaño.
RY on January 18 again saw the PEREGRINE on a pole on San
Antonio in Albuquerque between San Pedro and the freeway. AL
found it west of San Pedro on January 26.
The SNC team is banding ROSY FINCHES on Sundays at the Crest
House. On January 31 they banded seven BROWN-CAPPED with 89
recaptures. One female Brown-capped was originally banded as an
immature in 2004. They estimate the flock to be 150 to 200. NC
reported that a WINGS tour on January 16 had a trip to the Kiwanis
Meadow and found a male and female THREE-TOED WOODPECKER with PINE
GROSBEAKS. RV tried on January 31 but no woodpeckers, just the
grosbeaks. The road up had another snowfall on February 3 and the
Crest House will be closed on the 4th.
In Chaves County:
CR on January 26 at the Kenneth Smith Bird Sanctuary in Roswell
had an adult HARRIS’S SPARROW and a DOWNY WOODPECKER. JP, WW, LL,
and JO on January 29 did not find the Harris’s, but had a SWAMP
SPARROW. There was a TURKEY VULTURE over Roswell.
JSa on the Bitter Lake Refuge Count for January 15 reported
7211 CRANES on the refuge and another 2120 off it, with 20,000
light geese. JP, WW, LL, and JO on January 29 on the refuge saw a
female GREATER SCAUP and an AMERICAN BITTERN.
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In Cibola County:
SB found over 225 PINYON JAYS are still at Bluewater Lake.
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In Colfax County:
JP, LL, WW, and JO on January 30 at the Maxwell Refuge had up to
three LAPLAND LONGSPURS, TREE SPARROWS, and five GOLDEN EAGLES.
North of the refuge there was a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.
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In Curry County:
At the Clovis Sewage Ponds the EURASIAN WIGEON was still present
for JP and WW on January 15.
JLo on January 21 at his home in se. Curry Co. had the BOBWHITES
with a lone SCALED QUAIL, and PINE SISKINS. On January 30 he
reported a PRAIRIE FALCON and a FERRUGINOUS HAWK. After a storm on
January 28 there was the BARN and HORNED OWLS, the siskins, two
LARK BUNTINGS and the quails.
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In Doña Ana County:
DG reported the first nesting of an ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD in NM
with a nest in the High Range area of Las Cruces on January 31
found by DoS (photos). A male was in the area.
JG and SV saw on January 16 at the Shalem Bridge area off N.
Valley Drive 100 CEDAR WAXWINGS, 23 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, and a
probable RED-BREASTED X RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER in the pecan trees.
DG on January 15 saw the waxwings, bluebirds, and a RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCH. He had on January 16 the waxwings, western bluebirds,
two EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, and the hybrid sapsucker.
An EASTERN PHOEBE was along the canal across the street
from Paradise Lane near the bridge found by DG on January 12 over
the fields.
DG at a private home saw an adult male BLACK-THROATED BLUE
WARBLER. (photos). SV and JG saw the warbler on January 16 with a
STELLER’S JAY.
BS has had a female ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD at his Las Cruces home
since autumn. A male showed up on January 28.
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In Grant County:
In the Big Burro Mts. near Silver City DG on January 17 to 20
with up to eight inches of snow reported a HORNED OWL,
WILLIAMSON’S SAPSUCKER, HUTTON’S VIREO, BROWN CREEPER, WINTER WREN,
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, and a pair of BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS.
RSh reports that MONTEZUMA QUAIL have been more common in the
Silver City area this past year.
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In Hidalgo County:
County Hwy.1 south of Animas crosses the Diamond A (Gray) Ranch.
Because of events with thoughtless birders, one must NOT go off the
road.
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In Los Alamos County;
DY on January 24 had seven CEDAR WAXWINGS in the White Rock part
of Los Alamos on Rover Blvd. near the turnoff to the Overlook.
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In Otero County:
RN on January 15 to 17 had a SAW-WHITE OWL calling in the camp
at James Canyon, two miles west of Mayhill. On January 17 they saw
a MONTEZUMA QUAIL with another dead one found.
One can walk past the gate to Stinky Lake at the Holloman Lakes,
but not drive in and can still bird there, but Lagoon G is still
off limits.
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In San Miguel County:
JP, JO, WW, and LL on January 29 at the Las Vegas Refuge saw two
MERLINS.
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In Sandoval County:
DK on January 10 saw six WHITE-FRONTED GEESE at the soccer
field in Corrales near the Post Office. JM had one there on
January 28 with Canadas.
JMc at his home in Placitas on January 31 had two EVENING
GROSBEAKS, a few AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, a female CASSIN’S FINCH, a
SLATE-COLORED JUNCO, and a CURVE-BILLED THRASHER.
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In Santa Fe County:
PN on January 28 had four EASTERN BLUEBIRDS in a snowstorm at
his home on the north side of Edgewood.
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In Sierra County:
SB on January 22 reported an OSPREY and BRIDLED TITMOUSE from
the Elephant Butte Dam Overlook. They had WHITE PELICANS on three
sites on the lake.
At Paseo del Rio Park below the dam DS and CM saw on January 24
a female HOODED MERGANSER, OSPREY, and 13 LESSER GOLDFINCHES. JP,
WW, and JO on January 23 saw a MOORHEN, and a BROWN CREEPER.
JB reported a RED-NECKED GREBE at Lost Canyon at Elephant Butte
Lake between Rock Canyon and Three Sisters. Go thru the village to
the point. It was not seen by JP on January 9. JP, WW, CW, and
LL on January 16 had the grebe with an immature RED-THROATED LOON
at Long Point Marina seen from Lost Canyon. JJ did not see the
grebe or loon on January 18.
Along the Rio Grande two miles north of the now dry Las Palomas
Marsh on a deeply rutted track JP, LL, and WW on January 16 saw the
RUSTY BLACKBIRD. LL also saw the ten DUNLINS.
At the Rock Canyon Marina on Elephant Butte Lake JP, LL, and WW
on January 16 again saw the THAYER’S GULL.
At Percha Dam Park SB
on January 21 had a female prairie MERLIN there, with 60 WESTERN
BLUEBIRDS and two BRIDLED TITMICE. JP, WW, and JO on January 23
reported six MOORHENS, a YELLOWTHROAT, DOWNY WOODPECKER, and a
SORA.
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In Socorro County:
DH at the Turtle Bay Park on the NMTU campus in Socorro on
January 30 reported a CATBIRD.
JSt reports that there is no hiking east of the Rio Grande at
the Bosque del Apache refuge at least thru March for a mountain
lion study. The part of the refuge west of the rio is still open.
More CRANES and GEESE seem to be at the Bernardo Refuge than at
Bosque del Apache this winter. DK and JR on January 18 had two
tan-striped white-throats at the refuge near the blind with lots of
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS.
At Bosque del Apache Refuge south of San Antonio BG and NMC saw
a HARLAN’S HAWK and three MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS. CG on January 16
said they saw a second immature TRUMPETER SWAN at the Low Flow
Channel. JP, LL, and WW on January 16 at the visitor center saw a
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. DK and JR on January 18 at the refuge had
a white striped White-throat at the Cactus Garden plus the WHITE-
TAILED KITE at the south end at mile post 41.8 on Hwy. 1. MH, BT,
RM and RV again saw the second TRUMPETER SWAN at the low flow
channel at the east end of the two-way road on January 23. It was
seen later by JP, JO, and WW, plus the WHITE-TAILED KITE at the
south end. DP on January 24 saw the swan, several HOODED
MERGANSERS, 50 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, the kite, 40 COMMON MERGANSERS,
a few SAGE SPARROWS, and the GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW at the feeder.
DZ saw the trumpeter on January 29 in the low flow area. RCa saw
the kite and many MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS on January 29 with two calling
HARLAN’S HAWKS.
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In Taos County:
JL on February 1 reported about 500 ROSY FINCHES of all three
species at the Columbine Inn at the Taos Ski Valley.
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In Valencia County:
RCa on January 29 saw WHITE-FACED IBIS at the Taco Bell Ponds in
Belen.
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Initials of Observers:
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SB, Scott Baron; JB, Jonathan Batkin; RCa, Robert Cates;
SNC, Steve and Nancy Cox; CG, Carolyn Galceran;
DG, David Griffin; BG, Bill Groll; JG, John Groves;
DH, David Hawksworth; KH, Karen Herzenberg; MH, Michael Hilchey;
JJ, Jim Joseph; DK, David Krueper; JL, Jerry Lazarczyk;
LL, Lane Leckman; JLo, James Lofton; AL, Anne Lovekin;
CM, Carolyn Mangeng; JMc, Jim McPhee; NMC, Narca Moore-Craig;
JM, Jim Mosley; RM, Robert Munro; RN, Robert Nieman;
PN, Paul Noble; JO, Jerry Oldenettel; DP, Danny Paez;
JP, John Parmeter; CR, Chris Rustay; JR, Janet Ruth;
JSa, Jeff Sanchez; RSh, Roland Shook; DS, Dale Spall;
DoS, Donna Simonetti; JSt, James Stuart; BT, Bill Talbot;
RV, Raymond VanBuskirk; SV, Steve Vinson; ChW, Chip Weselch;
WW, Bill Wittman; CW, Cole Wolf; RY, Rob Yaksich;
DY, David Yeamans, DZ, DeAnn Zwight
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Field Trips:
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Central Audubon in Albuquerque has Thursday field trips. All phone
numbers begin with 505. February 11 to see the cranes at the
Whitfield Wildlife Area near Belen with Linda Heinze, 565-1441;
February 18 to the Sandia Mt. foothills at the east end of Copper
with Mary Lou Arthur, 299-2565; on February 15 for longspurs and
Sage Sparrows near San Antonio with Rebecca Gracey, 242-3821.
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On Saturday, February 6, Sangre de Cristo Audubon explores Bosque
del Apache Refuge with Linda Mowbray, 505-989-8295 and Mary Ristow
820-0906.
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On the weekend of February 6-7 Central Audubon goes to the Maxwell
and Las Vegas Refuges with Sei Tokuda, 505-266-2480.
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The Cox banding team will be banding Rosy Finches at the Crest
House in the Sandias on Sundays at 9:30. Check for snowstorms when
planning to climb the mountain.
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Southwestern Audubon birds Lake Roberts with Roland Shook at 575-
388-3441 on February 20.
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Mesilla Valley Audubon on February 20 checks out Percha Dam and
Caballo Lake led by David Griffin at 575-382-2080.
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There are bird walks on February 6 at the Mesilla Vallley Bosque
State Park. Meet at the park.
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The Rio Grande Nature Center has morning bird walks on Sunday and
Saturday mornings at 9 a.m.