by Amy Gross
great local spots to get your spring birding fix
BIRDS, BEING BIRDS, are more keenly aware of the coming of spring than humans. As early as late February or early March, migratory birds begin their journeys to faraway breeding grounds and more comfortable summer climates. Meanwhile, New Mexico birders go into a tizzy, eagerly awaiting glimpses of these fleeting visitors as they pass through wildlife preserves and sanctuaries.
Two of my favorite places to birdwatch in the spring are easy to get to and offer expertled birding walks to boot.
In Santa Fe, the Randall Davey Audubon Center (RDAC) sits at the very top of Upper Canyon Road, opposite the 525-acre Santa Fe Canyon Preserve, home to more than 140 species of birds. Visitors to the RDAC are welcome to wander the grounds on their own or take advantage of the center’s free Saturday morning birding walks, led by an Audubon volunteer. The guided walks, which begin at 8:30 a.m., meander through a bird-filled courtyard, then continue across the grounds, and finally into the Canyon Preserve itself. If you’re not up for the entire three-hour experience, you can bow out early, but if you’re new to birding or looking to add some lifers to your list, you owe it to yourself to do the entire walk at least once. Keep your eyes peeled for spring visitors such as Wilson’s warblers, sage thrashers, cedar waxwings, evening grosbeaks and even early hummingbirds.
Albuquerque’s Rio Grande Nature Center State Park (RGNC), located along the Rio Grande Flyway and the Bosque, is a magnet there are so many birds that all you have to do is point your binoculars somewhere, and birds will obligingly fly right into your view—and it’s not much of an exaggeration. Expert birders lead walks every Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. The walks are free, but space is limited to a dozen or so birders, so call the office at 505-344-7240 to reserve a space and bring $3 in exact change or a check to cover the park’s daily entrance fee. At the central pond, you’ll see ducks, geese and other water birds, then walk along trails and into wooded areas for glimpses of migrating warblers, tanagers and orioles, as well as the RGNC’s regular contingent of year-round birds.
Clean up those binoculars. The birds are coming!
Amy Gross is a birder and the organizer of Santa Fe Birdbrains, a Northern New Mexico–based Meetup group.
