My friend, David, and I have shared a few adventures consisting of his bicycle riding and my birding. It’s been fun, so we are always alert to more opportunities, but David is naive about the distribution and seasonality of birds. He thinks that there are lots of birds everywhere all the time. When he suggested Utah in March for the Skinny Tire Festival, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I wouldn’t see many birds. But, such a trip would hopefully allow me to make some progress towards my geographic goal of 50 birds in 50 states and I would see some spectacular scenery.
It’s difficult to fly to Moab, which has only one flight a day, so we decided to meet in Albuquerque. I would drive there, David would fly, and then we would drive to Moab together. I started from Florida on March 6 and just drove for the first couple of days. It got more interesting in Texas. I headed towards Lubbock where a Mexican Duck, a species that I still needed for my life list, was being seen regularly. Shortly before I got there, I saw a pond with Canada Geese on the side of the road. Surprisingly, I still needed the goose for my Texas list, so I stopped and spent some time in little Post City Park. The Canada Goose and a pair of Bufflehead brought my Texas list to 285. Quite a few Brewer’s Blackbirds drank and bathed with the geese and ducks.
It was late when I got into Lubbock and I went straight to my hotel. The following morning, I went to Leroy Elmore Park to look for the Mexican Duck. Like many city parks, there were lots of domestic mallards and geese and all the waterfowl seemed habituated to humans. I was just taking my time surveying the variety of ducks when suddenly there he was – the handsome male Mexican Duck. It was one of the easiest lifers ever! You may think that he looks like a female Mallard, and Mexican Duck was previously considered a subspecies of Mallard, but it was accepted as a full species a few years ago. One of the most obvious physical differences is the dull yellowish bill, but there are other differences in appearance as well as genetic differences.
Cackling Geese at Leroy Elmore Park were a bonus. I have seen them many times before in other states, but they were new for Texas.
Next on my itinerary was Los Poblanos Open Space in Albuquerque the next day, March 10, before I picked up David at the airport. I had hoped for a second lifer, Western Screech-Owl, which had been reported by many birders until a few days before my arrival. I repeatedly checked all the boxes where he had been seen by others, but there was no sign of the owl. The most entertaining birds that I found where three Greater Roadrunners. One of them caught a House Mouse and ran around with it while making soft mewing sounds.
I finally gave up on the owl and went to Rio Grande Nature Center State Park to wait for David’s arrival. I immediately loved this pretty park. It had more vegetation than I’d seen since I had left the southeast and it had bird feeders! Some birders prefer to see birds in a more natural environment, but I want to see them up close. I enjoyed the White-crowned Sparrows, Red-shafted Flicker, Spotted Towhee, and others at the feeder area and the Wood Ducks in the lake. A ranger told me that there were porcupines in trees on one of the longer trails, but I didn’t have time that day. I remembered Burt’s words “Always leave something for next time.”
David’s flights had gone smoothly and he arrived on time. We loaded his bike into the car and headed towards Bloomfield, New Mexico, where we would spend the night. The next morning as we were loading the car, David found a Turkey Vulture. It doesn’t sound very notable, but it was flagged by eBird as “rare” and required documentation. We were both puzzled, but quickly discovered that it was just a few days earlier than usual. Traveling always reminds you that “location, location, location” doesn’t just apply to real estate. Location (and time of year) are two big determinants of what birds to expect at any given time and place.
As soon as we started driving north the scenery changed just as I’d hoped. This was David’s first trip west since he was too young to remember. I was thrilled that he was getting a nice introduction to the American West.
We enjoyed our drive to Moab, Utah, where the Skinny Tire Festival would begin the next day. Stay turned for Part 2.
Birding for Life 