DVOC Main Page > Field Trips 2004 > Bosque del Apache Field Trip > Report 8
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Field
Trip Leader - Adrian
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Report #8
Day 8 of the DVOC field trip to New Mexico – Today was out last full day and we intended to try to pick up a few new species by trying some areas where we might get lucky as well as the Sante Fe Ski Basin for Gray Jay, Clark’s Nutcrackers and other higher altitude species. We departed at a leisurely 7:30 and made a stop in Corrales. Our hope here was for Lewis’ Woodpeckers that had been reported on a few Christmas bird counts over the last decade or so. While admitting this was a rather long shot, it was worth the try. As could be expected, we did not see the woodpeckers and moved on to Sante Fe. While working our way towards the ski basin, we stopped at the Raymond Davey Audubon Center. On our way in, we had the first Black-billed Magpies of the trip. When we arrived we had Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, more magpies and a report of a pygmy-owl just up the hillside. A search for the owl was unsuccessful but a few people had a Black-capped Chickadee at the feeders.
We then made a move to the ski basin and after arriving there soon had several Stellar’s Jays and one Gray Jay. We were able to see Clark’s Nutcrackers against the skyline but it was not until some trail mix was spread out on the snow that the multiple jays and eventually a few nutcrackers came close. The group had split up prior to this and the segment of the group up the hill had another Black-capped Chickadee and head Golden-crowned Kinglet. We stay to have lunch at the lodge and continued to enjoy jays, the nutcracker and many Common Ravens overhead. We then headed down the mountain and headed towards the Lake Cochite Recreation Area.
The area was home to a Native American pueblo, a lake and lots of open space. Just before reaching our turnoff to the lake, we had a flurry of activity on a hillside. We scampered out of the vans and had Western Bluebirds, Pine Siskins, American Robins, Northern Flickers and American Goldfinches on the hillside. All this activity was one of the most active areas of landbirds we had witnessed on the entire trip.
Our scanning of the lake found a few Common Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Merganser and many of the waterfowl we had seen. We also had a group of Mule Deer on the far bank and a nearby Crissal’s Thrasher for some. We then drove through the pueblo of Cochite Lake is search of Pinyon Jay without much luck. A stop at the spillway revealed a few more goldeneye, lots of Bufflehead, Black Phoebe and just as we were about to head back to the motel a juvenile Thayer’s Gull. The gull got us all out of the vans in a hurry and circled for the next 15-20 minutes as we studied this bird. From there it was a drive back to the motel and a very festive dinner at the Rio Grande Yacht Club.