Essential New Mexico Birding: Bosque del Apache and Sandia Crest
One of the best places to see all three species of rosy-finches is at the bird feeders of the Sandia Crest House restaurant on Sandia Crest, in the Cibola National Forest of central New Mexico. From the comfort of the restaurant, you will enjoy learning how to differentiate between these sometimes difficult to separate species.
More details about this trip:
Another highlight of a winter birding trip to New Mexico will be the dusk and dawn flights of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. It is easy to spend a full day birding around this refuge, studying thousands of ducks, geese and other water birds, as well as many other species wintering here. This is one of the truly spectacular nature experiences every birder, and non-birder, should see.
Pricing: $2,290 USD, or £1,798 for 6 Days and 5 Nights
Group Size: Price is based on a group size of 7 or 8 participants.
Upcoming Dates:
December 2 to 7, 2023
January 30 to February 4, 2024
In addition to these two great destinations, there are plenty of other places to find a wide assortment of highly sought-after birds. Birds of forests, fields and wetlands will keep you entertained as you explore this great area of the country.
Birds
Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose, Cackling Goose, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Scaled Quail, Gambel’s Quail, Eared Grebe, Western Grebe, Clark’s Grebe, White-winged Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Sandhill Crane, Neotropic Cormorant, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Red-naped Sapsucker, Acorn Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Merlin, Black Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Steller’s Jay, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Verdin, Bushtit, Rock Wren, Canyon Wren, Cactus Wren, Western Bluebird, Townsend’s Solitaire, Curve-billed Thrasher, Crissal Thrasher, Phainopepla, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Black Rosy-Finch, Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, Cassin’s Finch, Red Crossbill, Black-throated Sparrow, Sagebrush Sparrow, Canyon Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia
Mammals
Mule Deer, Elk, Black Bear, Raccoon, Striped Skunk, Coyote, Mountain Lion, Bobcat, Rock Squirrel, Colorado Chipmunk, Valley (Botta’s) Pocket Gopher, American Beaver, Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Desert Cottontail, Collared Peccary (Javelina)
Special sites
Sandia Crest, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Petroglyph National Monument, Percha Dam State Park, Caballo Lake State Park and Elephant Butte Reservoir
