Fifteen Local Birders Chase Birds In Eastern New Mexico

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on April 28, 2024
- 2:33 pm

The primary target of a trip last weekend for 15 Los Alamos birders was to see the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, an endangered species with a population of only about 500 birds in New Mexico. Photo by Michael SmithThe male Lesser Prairie-Chicken display in open areas called leks, where the males stomp their feet, puff out their wings, and make high pitched bubbling sounds while inflating their red air sacs. Photo by Michael Smith

Lesser Prairie-Chicken females come from the grasslands around the lek to pick out their favorite male to mate with, then disappear back into the prairie to lay eggs. Photo by Michael Smith

Eight of the 15 Los Alamos birders chasing birds last weekend in eastern New Mexico, including Bonnie and Paul Dickman, Lynn Wysocki-Smith, Jeff and Cheryl Heikoop, Rick Rubio, Robin Gurule and Rowan Smith. Courtesy/Lynn Wysocki-Smith

By MICHAEL SMITH
Los Alamos Birder

A group of 15 Los Alamos birders spent last weekend chasing birds in eastern New Mexico. The 14 participants aside from me included my son Rowan Smith, Jonathan and Tessa Dowell, Jeff and Cheryl Heikoop, Paul and Bonnie Dickman, Lynn Wysocki-Smith, Bob Walker, Mary Brown, Charlie Sartor, Corry Clinton, Robin Gurule and Rick Rubio.

The primary target of our trip was to see the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, an endangered species with a population of only about 500 birds in New Mexico. The males of this species display in open areas called leks, where the males stomp their feet, puff out their wings, and make high pitched bubbling sounds while inflating their red air sacs.

The females come from the grasslands around the lek to pick out their favorite male to mate with, then disappear back into the prairie to lay eggs. Due to their status as an endangered species, access to the few public sites is highly restricted and requires a permit from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Our group had a 2-day permit, so we broke into 2 groups to limit the number of vehicles at the site to 3 each day. We arrived at the site at 5:45 a.m., 30 minutes before dawn, and waited. We stayed in our cars, using them as blinds, while the dawn broke and the single male chicken started his display. In past years, the lek we attended was populated by 10-15 males, but this year there was only one.

According to Danica Cooke at the BLM, this decline at the lek is not indicative of the overall population, but rather that birds move around to different leks in different years. The single bird strutted around, all alone, for about an hour until the show was over.

Also in this area were a pair of Burrowing Owls, who mostly hid behind a bush with just their eyes looking at us warily. The site also hosted Cassin’s and Lark Sparrows, a Lark Bunting and both Western and Chihuahuan Meadowlarks.

A pair of Burrowing Owls. Photo by Michael Smith

Our group visited several other sites, sometimes together, sometimes broken up into smaller groups. We visited Bitter Lake NWR in Roswell, where shorebirds and waterfowl are staging as they migrate north.

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge at sunset. Bitter Lake NWR is an ecological crossroad where the Chihuahuan Desert meets short grass prairie, the Pecos River and the Roswell Artesian Basin. Photo by Michael Smith

Forty four species of birds were seen here, including Snowy Plovers, tiny shorebirds that nest on the bare ground in sandy areas of the interior west.

A Snowy Plover. Photo by Michael Smith

Several Wilson’s Phalaropes were also here. Phalaropes flip the script on avian sexual roles, with the females being the brightly colored ones while the males are duller. The males build a nest and court a female. She lays eggs in the nest and then moves on to find another male. The male assumes all the parenting duties aside from laying the eggs. Also there were numerous American Avocets, a large shorebird with an unusual upturned (recurved) bill. They sweep the bill side to side just under the water’s surface and find invertebrates this way.

Behind the Tatum wastewater treatment plant is a reclaimed water natural site. It consists of ponds and marshes, and is bordered by large cottonwoods and willows. It is a magnet for migrant songbirds in an otherwise treeless prairie landscape. Here we had 31 species including a Louisiana Waterthrush. This eastern species is rarely found in New Mexico, and bobs it tail up and down and side to side while foraging among the cattails and waters edge for invertebrates. For several of the group, this was a “life bird”, the first one they had ever seen. For everyone, it was the first one they had seen in New Mexico. There were also two of its close cousins, the Northern Waterthrush nearby, allowing us to compare the two species. Also here was a colorful Lazuli Bunting, bright blue on the head and back, reddish on the breast, and white underneath.

A Louisiana Waterthrush is an eastern species rarely found in New Mexico. Photo by Michael Smith

West of Portales is the tiny town of Melrose, which hosts New Mexico’s most famous migrant trap, the Melrose Woods. We visited here also. The site consists of large cottonwoods and smaller poplars that were planted by long-ago settlers. It is prominent as the only stand of trees for miles around on the eastern prairies, and thus attracts migrating songbirds who need a break from their long flights. Here we found nesting Great Horned Owls, and migrants including Gray Flycatcher, Black-and-white Warbler, Hermit Thrush, and a heard-only Wood Thrush. You never know what you’ll find at the Melrose Woods.

Black-and-white Warbler. Photo by Michael Smith

Another view of a black-and-white Warbler. Photo by Michael Smith

Our final stop was Lake Sumner. Here the highlight was a rare (in New Mexico) but cooperative Yellow-throated Vireo found just below the dam, and a female Wild Turkey feeding right next to the road.

Yellow-throated Vireo. Photo by Michael Smith