Weather forecasted for Colorado having changed our plans, we steered southwest from Elkhart KS yesterday across the Oklahoma panhandle and a corner of Texas before reaching the state of New Mexico.  Along the way we saw our first Chihuahuan Ravens of the year.  The strong wind that fought us all the way served to expose the white base of one of these black bird’s feathers, confirming the identification.  Otherwise, except for their voice, they are scarcely different from the Common Raven.  The land became more arid and gradually turned from grassland to desert.

The day was warm.  I wore shorts.  Into New Mexico the land seemed more of the Southwest.  Bluffs emerged in the distance.  Pinyon pine and juniper became scattered across the slopes.  Then mountains with snow-capped peaks appeared to the north.  A ridge rose in front of us.  As we climbed, the trees filled the land and patches of snow appeared in the shadows.  Our campground is at an elevation of 6,800 feet in a pass between the Sandia and Manzano Ranges. 

The weather forecast was poor.  It is to be windy today and tomorrow.  We set up camp and relaxed.  The private campground is cheap and a bit rustic, but it is far enough from the highway to be quiet.  For the first time on this trip, we have many neighbors.  We expected to hear the wind and feel a rocking last night but didn’t.  We awoke early, but had no plans to go out.  The sun was shining and the air mild.  We looked at each other and loaded the gear.  We were going to the Sandia Crest.

A scenic road climbs the east side of the range to a point where every TV, microwave, and cell phone antenna for Albuquerque sits.  The National Forest has a concession there, the Sandia Crest House.  Bird feeders are kept there which attract all three species of rosy-finch in the winter.  The birds typically leave in March.  The last posting on these birds was a few weeks ago, but as cold as it had been, we believed a visit was worthwhile.  We have only seen one species before. 

Driving up the mountain we discussed our approach.  Normally, we might stop at each trail and take a walk, arriving at the top about Noon.  But the wind was forecast to rise, and life-birds are a priority on this trip, and the only likely life birds were at the top.  We did stop to glance at some Steller’s Jays.  They are year-birds after all.  The snow closed in on the road, but it was open and mostly dry.  Above about 8,000 feet, there were a couple of feet of snow in the woods.

Arriving at the top, we followed the lane to the rugged-looking structure.  One car sat in the parking lot.  We parked and looked about.  There was a trail to a lookout, but it had a few feet of snow on it.  We walked to the edge and surveyed the City of Albuquerque several thousand feet directly below.  Wonderful.  The puddles were frozen.  The door to the store and café was locked, but a man cleaning outside said it would be open in ten minutes.  We walked some more and returned fifteen minutes later.

The door was still locked, but the worker looking over at us said it should be open.  He walked over and unlocked the door.  Opening it we were struck by warmth and the smell of coffee.  Wonderful.  We wandered through to the café where windows looked out over the porch.  A pair of jays was feeding there.  Then we saw a couple of smaller birds and quickly saw that they were rosy finches.  About that time a worker at the counter noticing our interest said he would throw some more feed there in a few minutes.  By that time I had identified a few Gray-crowned Rosy Finches and at least one Black Rosy Finch.  The Black Rosy Finch was a life-bird for us. 

After the amiable café worker dumped a few cups of feed on the table the rosy finches arrived en-mass.  These are superb flyers and used the high wind to their advantage.  Once above the table they dove headfirst resuming the horizontal as they touched down.  On the table or ground they hopped rapidly making observation difficult, but they were less than twenty feet away.  We enjoyed great views and found numerous Brown-capped Rosy Finches in the mix.  This was another life-bird for us.  We sipped coffee and watched rosy finches for about an hour.  A few Mountain Chickadees joined them.

After this period of very comfortable and productive birding, we went back outside and looked at the trails and several snowshoers on them.  The trails looked well packed.  We grabbed our hiking poles and walked a quarter mile down to an opening in the forest.  We found no birds and returned to the crest.  Whoa, climbing in snow at 10,000 feet was a difficult task for us altitudinally challenged Easterners.  We drove down to where the snow began disappearing before stopping to eat lunch.  There a robin was singing.

April 1, 2010 – Tijeras NM

Yesterday while at the Sandia Crest House, we picked up a newsletter from the local Audubon Society.  This listed a birding outing for this morning.  We made a phone call and joined the group to tour the Pena Blanca and Cochiti Lake area north of Albuquerque.  The special target bird was the Osprey.  We of the Atlantic Seaboard found making an osprey a target bird a bit humorous.  As it turns out the osprey did not come to Cochiti Lake this year.  High winds made the birding difficult, but still we saw several year-birds. 

Finishing up early we completed some shopping and managed to buy a new pair of glasses frames for Anne.  We also stopped at the Cibola National Forest ranger station, picked up some pamphlets, and chatted with the rangers there.  As usual we found the staff wonderfully helpful.  A few snowflakes peppered the car.  We can see fresh snow on the mountains. 

More wind is forecast for tomorrow and a freeze is possible the next two nights.  We’ll do our best to find birds and stay warm.  This weekend we will visit with the Doolittles in town.   The weather is expected to improve over the next few days.  We may yet adjust to the wild western climate.