April 7, 2008: Santa Ana NWR, Texas

We birded areas today around the mid Lower Rio Grand Valley Area (Alamo, Pharr, etc.) Our base for two nights was the Alamo Inn in Alamo, a birder friendly B&B. Our stay here was OUTSTANDING and we would highly reccomend this bird friendly accomodation. Keith was very helpful with birding suggestions, as well!

We started off at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge:

Great Kiskadee

Plain Chachalaca

White-Winged Dove Golden Fronted Woodpecker
Couch's Kingbird
Bronzed Cowbird
The Chachalacas were loud in the early morning!
Black Bellied Whistling Ducks Little Blue Herons (and Gadwall)
Long-Billed Dowitcher
Black-Necked Stilt

More DowitchersWhite-Faced Ibis
Great Pondhawk (I think)
Ladder Backed Woodpecker
Greater Yellowlegs
Red-Eared SliderBronzed Cowbird
Mottled Ducks
Northern Shoveler
lifer Least Grebe
Above and below: Northern Parula
Little Blue Heron white morph
The only Yellow Crowned Night Heron we saw on the trip
Common Yellowthroat
Lifer Green Kingfisher This Great Kiskadee was gathering nesting material
migrant Nashville Warbler
Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher

Some nice Santa Ana NWR Scenery from hear the Hawk Tower

LOCATION OF SANTA ANA NWR (INTERACTIVE)

June 30, 2007: Bosque del Apache, New Mexico area (26 PHOTOS, 19 BIRD, 2 TURTLE, 1 FROG, 1 DRAGONFLY)

We spent most of the morning at the awesome Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, just south of Soccoro. Although summer is not the best time of year to visit (autumn and winter have lots more birds, including huge flocks of Snow Geese and Sanhill Cranes) (Bosque birding info here), we had some nice sightings. After this, we spent most of the afternoon driving, south on Interstate 25. We stopped briefly at Hatch, the "Chili Pepper Capital of the World", and headed southwest to Interstate 10, and Lordsburg. Eventually on to Portal, NM, Douglas, AZ, and to Sierra Vista, Arizona. In the evening we attended hummingbird banding at the San Pedro House there, and checked into our lodging, the Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast. The proprietor, Mary Jo Ballator does a GREAT JOB, and we highly reccomend this quiet establishment as a great place to stay, and it also has lots of birdfeeders to view!

This was a baby Western Kingbird at our hotel (EconoLodge) in Socorro
Eurasian Collared Dove - San Antonio, NM

BOSQUE DEL APACHE PHOTOS

Cinamon Teal

Say's Phoebe enjoying a dragonfly

Tree of Egrets

Ring-Necked Pheasant

Black-Crowned Night Heron

Summer Tanager

Black Phoebe

Blue Grosbeak

Great Egret

Chihuahan Raven

Green Heron

Black Phoebe

Killdeer on nest

American Coot

Neotropic Cormorant

Painted Turtle

Big Bend Slider

Familiar Bluet

Barn Swallow

Bullfrog

Killdeer eggs

Greater Roadrunner

Route 1 is a scenic route along the Rio Grande

Heading south on Interstate 25

JUNE 30 ROUTE MAP