Locations
Gray Flycatcher © Jack Parlapiano
Birding Locations
We guide throughout the state and can meet you anywhere. Below are New Mexico’s main birding regions along with a selection of their characteristic birds. Explore these regions and birds for inspiration on where to go and what to expect!
Albuquerque - Truth or Consequences - Las Cruces
Rio GRande Basin
A narrow artery running from north to south, the Rio Grande and surrounding floodplain have been the lifeblood of New Mexico’s inhabitants—people and wildlife alike— for thousands of years. To the north, the famous Bosque Del Apache hosts tens of thousands of cranes and waterfowl during the winter months against a classic New Mexican backdrop of towering golden cottonwood trees and crimson willow thickets. In spring, summer and fall, the riparian that lines this corridor provides critical refuge for Chihuahuan Desert specialties and functions as a major migratory flyway for shorebirds and passerines, yielding excellent rarities.
Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose, Mexican Duck, Gambel’s Quail, Clark’s Grebe, Greater Roadrunner, Lesser Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Calliope Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Sandhill Crane, Baird’s Sandpiper, Wilson’s Phalarope, White-tailed Kite, Common Black Hawk, Elf Owl, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Prairie Falcon, Tropical Kingbird, Willow Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Verdin, Cave Swallow, Cactus Wren, Crissal Thrasher, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, Cassin’s Sparrow, Black-chinned Sparrow, Sagebrush Sparrow, Chihuahuan Meadowlark, Scott’s Oriole, Bronzed Cowbird, Lucy’s Warbler, Virginia’s Warbler, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Snowy Plover, Red-naped Sapsucker.
Greater Roadrunner © Liam Wolff, Gambel’s Quail © Jodhan Fine, Elf Owl © Caleb Strand, Vermilion Flycatcher © Levi Plummer, Cactus Wren © Jodhan Fine, Chihuahuan Raven © Jodhan Fine, Scott’s Oriole © Jack Parlapiano, Ladder-backed Woodpecker © Jack Parlapiano, Pyrrhuloxia © Liam Wolff, Lucy’s Warbler © Jack Parlapiano
Santa Fe - Taos - Albuquerque
Rocky Mountains
Nestled around charming mountain towns renowned for local art and culture like Taos and Santa Fe, the Southern Rockies offer a glimpse into one of the most dramatic mountain ranges in the United States, with a southwestern flair. Pristine conifer forests interspersed with subalpine meadows give way to windswept alpine tundra, where highly specialized species live life on a razor’s edge. In the summer, Rocky Mountain specialties abound in the high elevation conifer forest, and in winter, enigmatic irruptive boreal species descend from the frozen north.
Dusky Grouse, Band-tailed Pigeon, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Black Swift, Calliope Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Mountain Plover, American Goshawk, Flammulated Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Spotted Owl, Boreal Owl, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Red-naped Sapsucker, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Gray Vireo, Canada Jay, Pinyon Jay, Steller’s Jay, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Violet-green Swallow, Pygmy Nuthatch, Sage Thrasher, American Dipper, Western Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend’s Solitaire, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Black Rosy-Finch, Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, Cassin’s Finch, Red Crossbill, Virginia’s Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak.
Calliope Hummingbird © Jim Merritt, Gray Vireo © Jack Parlapiano, Western Bluebird © Jim Merritt, Mountain Bluebird © Jack Parlapiano, Evening Grosbeak © Jim Merritt, Flammulated Owl © Jack Parlapiano, Pygmy Nuthatch © Jack Parlapiano, Black-billed Magpie © Jim Merritt, Townsend’s Solitaire © Jack Parlapiano, Red Crossbill © Jim Merritt
Silver City - Deming - Lordsburg
Southwest New Mexico
An often overlooked gem of the southwest, New Mexico’s bootheel is home to high elevation Madrean Pine-Oak forest and remote canyons, punctuated by desert scrub and grassland. Broadly representing both the eastern and northernmost limits of many specialty species found throughout Mexico, this area provides a unique opportunity to understand how the geology and biology of Mexico intertwines with the Rocky Mountains and Greater Southwest.
Mexican Duck, Scaled Quail, Montezuma Quail, Mexican Whip-poor-will, Rivoli’s Hummingbird, Lucifer Hummingbird, Calliope Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, American Goshawk, Common Black Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Spotted Owl, Acorn Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Arizona Woodpecker, Western Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Cassin’s Kingbird, Gray Vireo, Hutton’s Vireo, Pinyon Jay, Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse, Bendire’s Thrasher, Rufous-backed Robin, Olive Warbler, Sprague’s Pipit, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Thick-billed Longspur, Botteri’s Sparrow, Baird’s Sparrow, Chihuahuan Meadowlark, Scott’s Oriole, Lucy’s Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Pyrrhuloxia, Varied Bunting, Greater Pewee, Yellow-eyed Junco, Dark-eyed Junco.
Greater Pewee © Jack Parlapiano, Gila Woodpecker © Jim Merritt, Acorn Woodpecker © Jack Parlapiano, Rufous-backed Robin © Jack Parlapiano, Hutton’s Vireo © Jim Merritt, Curve-billed Thrasher © Jim Merritt, Olive Warbler © Jack Parlapiano, Harris’s Hawk © Jack Parlapiano, Rufous-crowned Sparrow © Jack Parlapiano, Common Black Hawk © Brian Genge
Roswell - Carlsbad - Clovis
Eastern Plains
With wide open Great Plains grassland in the north, gradually becoming more arid and transitioning to Chihuahuan Desert and Scrub in the south, Eastern New Mexico offers vast open vistas, with typical Great Plains fare like Longspurs and Grouse. A big part of birding culture in the eastern plains of New Mexico centers around vagrant traps: isolated patches of riparian oasis in the endless sea of grass and scrub. These localized spots can hold impressive numbers— and variety— of birds, from spectacular eastern warblers to western staples, even turning up major vagrants quite regularly, meaning you never know quite what you’ll discover in a day of birding.
Scaled Quail, Greater Roadrunner, Lesser Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Snowy Plover, Least Tern, Harris’s Hawk, Burrowing Owl, Prairie Falcon, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Chihuahuan Raven, Cave Swallow, Rock Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Crissal Thrasher, Sage Thrasher, Mountain Bluebird, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Thick-billed Longspur, Cassin’s Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Chihuahuan Meadowlark, Bullock’s Oriole, Ferruginous Hawk, Lesser Prairie Chicken.
Chestnut-collared Longspur © Jim Merritt, Ferruginous Hawk © Jim Merritt, Snowy Plover © Jack Parlapiano, Cassin’s Sparrow © Levi Plummer, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher © Jack Parlapiano, Burrowing Owl © Jack Parlapiano, Lesser Prairie-Chicken © Jack Parlapiano, Chihuahuan Meadowlark © Jack Parlapiano, Prairie Falcon © Jack Parlapiano, Thick-billed Longspur © Jack Parlapiano