What Goes Up, Must Fall Back Down

[This article originally appeared in La Voz, the newsletter of the Friends of Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge, Vol. 14, No. 3, October, 2016]

I would like to start by apologizing for putting a pun in the title, but I am writing this pre-dawn and I rEGRET nothing. Sorry if that last one flew over your head, it was pretty owlful, but toucan play at puns better than one anyway so if you have anything better please email me! Newton told us why it is when objects go up, they must fall back down. Fall migration is no exception.  September and October is a magical time to be out birding; the hundreds of neo-tropical species that migrate north from the tropics to breed begin to trickle back southward to warmer climates and their wintering grounds. For many species, these wintering grounds are really more of their true home, most spend at least 8 or 9 months of the year in non-breeding areas. These special birds make the perilous trip and leave their habitat behind for the temporary glut of food that comes with Temperate North America’s short summers. Take a Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) for example. These diminutive yellow warblers pass through our area in spring and continue to the misty forests of the Pacific Northwest and Canada to sing their songs, make their nests, and breed. They may have two successful clutches (sets of eggs) over the course of 2 or 3 months, and then the whole family (individually, not like the Griswalds on a road-trip) begin to head back southward. We in Las Vegas usually start experiencing this trickle in late August, and it continues into mid-October. Now an interesting thing to consider is that by breeding, the Wilson’s Warblers have by definition made more of themselves…potentially many more of themselves. Some may be preyed upon en route southward, some will hit windows (see how you can prevent this here), some will be preyed upon by cats (if you like birds, keep your cats indoors!), but still many will successfully make the journey, crossing through our woodlands and safely back to Veracruz, Oaxaca, or Chiapas in Southern Mexico.

Wilson's Warbler in Las Vegas, NM. September, 2013

Every fall when I go out looking for rare eastern migrants I wade through scores of Wilson’s Warblers, potentially dozens on a good day. Cumulatively for the month of September this year I saw, according to my records, approximately 121 Wilson’s Warblers. To give that some perspective I saw 21 in May, I think you get the idea. That excess glut of Wilson's will have to survive the tropical winter in the presence of snakes, tropical species of raptors, even predatory insects. Let your mind run wild with the things that live in the dark jungles of Chiapas or Oaxaca and you get a sense of what these 0.3oz birds will go through before we see them again in May. Anyway, I like fall migration and the physics of neo-tropical birds; what goes up must fall back down.

January Update - San Miguel County, New Mexico Big Year 2016

Big Year Birding and Overview of San Miguel County
Sometime in January of 2016, after my partner and I returned from our 6 week long roadtrip through the Gulf coast region, I decided 2016 would be a fun year to attempt a birding big year for San Miguel County, New Mexico. My goal is two-part; firstly, to see as many species as possible in the calendar year 2016, and secondly, to be more specific, I would like to hit a nice round number of 250 species. In 2015, after being intermittently gone from march-august I got out and birded feverishly from late summer to winter and managed to record 213 species.
A big year is more than just a pokey competition to see lots of birds, it's a challenge to get out and bird often, bird new places, deliberately look for target species, and in the end get to know a place better than you did before.

The backroads of San Miguel County, New Mexico offer the naturalist abundant wild places to explore. Locations with road access can seem as remote and wild as any wilderness I've been in.

For me, that's not a difficult challenge to accept. The region of San Miguel County, New Mexico is a startling study of topographic variation, habitat diversity, the meeting of eastern and western species of fauna, and the chance for way-ward eastern birds to wind-up in our numerous playas and migrant traps. The Las Vegas area itself is unique for its habitat diversity and easy access to different bioregions. Within the Las Vegas Christmas Bird Count circle (a 7 mi diameter circle with the center at the University in the middle of town) one can access; Shortgrass Steppe, Playa Lakes, Riparian Woodland, Wetlands, Pinon-juniper woodland, Juniper Savanna, Ponderosa Pine forest, mountainous streams, and even a few pockets of Mixed Conifer forest. Hardwood forests range from Narrow-leaf cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) in the upper elevations of the Gallinas River, to Fremont Cottonwood (Populus Fremontii) on the lower reaches, to the Elm groves in town, and even a large patch of Black Locust at McAllister Lake WMA. Going into 2016, I have documented 225 species in this approximately 150 square mile area during the past 5 years or so.

The sun sets to the west of McAllister Lake. The footprints of Sandhill Cranes tell of the day's visitors.

Outside of Las Vegas, the diversity of habitats increases by even more, running from less than 5,000 ft elevation east of Conchas Lake to the east, all the way to 11,600+ feet at Elk Mountain high in the Sangre De Cristo mountains, San Miguel County has one of the broadest spectrums of habitats to be found in the state. The shape of the county also lends itself well to finding good birds. From it's western edge in the Sangre De Cristos, the county line is nearly in the center line of the state. While the county does not run north-south very far, it does run east, far east, to within about 40 minutes of driving from the Texas line. This wide geographic scatter means that eastern birds more common to Texas have a high probability of showing up at a few select habitat locales, namely around Conchas Lake and the surrounding Canadian River.

Hermits Peak looms in the distance as seen from Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge. The stunning habitat diversity within San Miguel County can be seen upon driving into Las Vegas from any directions, it is truly 'Where the Rockies meet the Plains'.

January 2016 Update
We arrived back from our trip on January 15th, 2016. After 6 weeks on the road and a week in Southern Florida kayaking in the Everglades and Florida Keys, the frozen waters of Storrie lake and the Las Vegas NWR playas were a startling contrast. I thus began my big year of birding the next day. As is the seeming ritual at this point, my first birds of the year were in my own yard; Rock Pigeons, Eurasian-Collared Doves and House Sparrows, my faithful neighborhood birds. Dark-eyed Juncos, American Crows, and Common Raven were all additional ticks day #1. Following these initial birds I headed out to Las Vegas NWR, a great spot for winter birds - especially raptors - and was certainly rewarded. Northern Harriers, Bald Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, and American Kestrels all on this tour of the area. Black-billed Magpies and Mountain Bluebirds, year-round residents of LVNWR were also easily found. An increasingly rare species; Snow Geese were also feeding in the Alfalfa feeds near the refuge entrance, joined alongside Canada and Cacking Geese.

While all of the big water bodies in the area were frozen, the marshy areas associated with the Gallinas River were not, especially around the SE Las Vegas Wetlands (hotspot linked in the hyperlink). American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, and Green-winged Teal were feeding in the marshy grasses that line the Gallinas river's old oxbows. The highlight of this first day of birding was the 4 Eastern Bluebirds that were foraging along the Gallinas just west of I-25. We had found Easterns during the Christmas Bird Count, a bit of an oddity given the season, so it was very cool to find them in the dead of winter still in town.

The lifeblood of the Cattle industry in New Mexico, that venerable invention; the windmill.

The following day I headed down below the Caprock to Conchas Ranch, my old study site during my Masters research. The weather was much more agreeable below 6,000 ft, I was in a t-shirt and sweating by 10:00 am as I hiked around the foothills of the Mesa de los Carros. The birds of the Pinon-juniper country were out in force, all four species of expected thrushes; American Robin, Townsend's Solitaires, Western and Mountain Bluebirds, and corvids - good numbers of corvids; Black-billed Magpies, Common Ravens, Western Scrub Jays, and those fascinating birds of the Piñon pine - Pinyon Jays (note the change in spelling, the tree should be referred to as its Spanish name, Piñon, while the bird unfortunately gets its anglicized to Pinyon Jay).

I'm amazed that Pinyon Jays (PIJA) are still occupying the Conchas country, it is relatively low elevation for them, and the populations of Piñon have had massive die-offs since the early 2000s. Pinyon jays cache huge numbers of Pinon nuts each autumn, while they retrieve more than 90% of these seeds, the remainder are left to germinate on the landscape and create the future woodland. It is a fascinating mutualistic relationship that event extends into the reproductive biology of Pinyon Jays, their sexual hormones are triggered by Piñon cones turning the color green - indicating a bountiful harvest the following fall and a good year to breed. Climate change induced drought, exacerbated by Ips confusus (a species of Bark Beetle) outbreaks threaten this relationship. As the fate of the Pinon pine goes, so too does the PIJA. The good news for the tree is that as the primary seed disperser, having active flocks of PIJA around as long as possible will help the trees migrate to more suitable sites. I gave a talk at the New Mexico Ornithological Society annual meeting in Albuquerque in April discussing the potential fate of Piñon woodlands and the iconic Jay that rules over it (abstract found here on the NMOS website).

Pinyon Jay on a Piñon Pine, Conchas Ranch, San Miguel Co., NM, January, 2016.

The road back from the Conchas held some more good first of the year birds; a Sage Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrashers, American Goldfinches, and a pair of Greater Roadrunners out for their mid-morning hunting session. Back on top of the Caprock, I came across my first Western Meadowlark (a year round resident but they remain very inconspicuous during the winter months as I suspect they molt during this time). An immature Bald Eagle also flew above the outskirts of town giving nice looks at their mottled plumage.

Immature Bald Eagle, Highway 104, San Miguel Co., NM, January 2016.

I began teaching on the 19th of January, a nice break in my schedule allowed me to visit the Ponderosa pine woodlands behind Luna Community College, I picked up Williamson's Sapsuckers, Mountain Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches, all year round residents of these forests. A week later I had my first snow related delayed morning of the year and I returned to these woods and had a spectacular morning of birding the fresh snow. My first Red-naped Sapsucker was foraging in the neighborhoods around Luna, and a myriad of new species were added every few minutes ago; Evening Grosbeaks, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Cassin's Finch and even a very early Mourning Dove. I drove back to Luna for my 10:00 Geology 202: Earth History class through fresh snow, still relishing the morning's birds.

Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging in fresh snow, Luna Community College area, San Miguel Co., NM, January 2016.

A very cold and very early season Mourning Dove in the Luna Community College area. I usually do not record Mourning Doves until March, this early bird got a chilling snowstorm as a welcome back! San Miguel Co., NM, January 2016.

An American Robin foraging in a Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum). San Miguel Co., NM, January 2016.

Female Williamson's Sapsucker with her expert camouflage and tell-tale yellow belly. San Miguel Co., NM, January 2016.

I finished January off with 2 more new species for the year at the NMHU Golf Course Pond (eBird hotspot page here), two birds of the marshes that make the golf course pond such a great site; Song Sparrow and Marsh Wren.

January concluded with 63 total species, I was happy with the number given it represented 2 weeks of birding. I did miss several winter species in this month that I was not able to see the rest of the winter, notably American Tree Sparrows, Merlin, Northern Shrike (although I had several shrikes I thought could* have been Northerns), and Ross's Goose.

Las Vegas NWR - Summer Birding in a Wet Year

 The summer of 2015 saw above average precipitation, something like weekly precipiation events from January to July, unprecedented in San Miguel County in recent years. This above average precipitation led to an extensive, early green-up across the region, typically limited to just 6 or 8 weeks of the Monsoon. While I was gone from my home for the better part of March-August, I did get to spend some extended weekends and a few weeks of July off. 

I was able to add several species to my San Miguel county bird list this summer, one of these is a familiar bird in Texas, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. It's long tail streaming behind it like a kite, these active Tyrant flycatchers are related to the kingbirds. Ruby and I saw one in eastern San Miguel county on hwy 104, just before a 2 week trip through Texas where we would end up seeing several hundred along highways and on electric poles throughout the state. 

Scissor-tail Flycatcher, an uncommon bird in New Mexico. Eastern San Miguel Co., New Mexico, Summer 2015

  

We made a quick stop in Variadero to check out some old ranch houses. Bullock's Orioles, Northern Mockingbirds, and Burrowing Owls were all calling these old farms and ranches home. As was a very precocious coyote who was hunting mice, seemingly unaware of our presence. The beautiful songs of the familiar Western Meadowlarks, and the new-to-me for the county Cassin's Sparrow filled the air.

On the county road that encircles Variadero, we also found this Ornate Box Turtle slowly crossing the road, a neat find in the middle of these typically arid plains.

Ornate Box Turtle, near Variadero, San Miguel Co., NM, Summer 2015

 Back closer to Las Vegas, the Las Vegas NWR, Storrie Lake, the Gallinas Riverwalk, and Sebastian Canyon all held good summer birds. I found a Mississippi Kite on the riverwalk, right in the middle of town, a great bird here on the eastern boundary of their typical range. 

Canda Goose, an increasingly local breeder

Las Vegas NWR had it's usual suite of grassland birds, but with water this year, the refuge experienced great numbers of waterfowl sticking around through the summer, breeding Canada Geese, Western Grebes, Pied-billed Grebes, and Eared grebes all raised families on the refuge. Visits by Black Terns and Wilson's Phalaropes reminded one of the refuge's oceanic roots, providing inland habitat for seasonally-tied coastal birds. 

The most famous bird of the refuge's summer was

 Earlier this summer, long-time refuge visitor, birding extraordinaire and past guest speaker Christopher Rustay located an uncommon bird on the refuge, just at the tour loop corner next to McAllister Lake; a Dickcissel. These grassland specialist birds are common throughout the Midwest and eastern Great Plains, preferring grasslands with weedy or shrubby edges, in most years just a handful of these birds are reported across New Mexico, but this year, probably due to the abundant moisture, Dickcissels were reported in amazingly high numbers across Northeastern New Mexico, from Las Vegas NWR north up into Mora, Colfax, and Union counties. 

A male Dickcissel sings his morning buzzy song at Las Vegas NWR, San Miguel Co., NM, Summer 2015

By mid-June the Dickcissel invasion was in full swing and my personal high count at the Las Vegas NWR was nearly 14 individuals, mostly males and in full song. This high number, with the addition of singing is a good indication that the birds were nesting on the refuge, although no nests were ever confirmed. These colorful little songbirds, related to the buntings, superficially resembles a Western Meadowlark, our other common yellow-breasted grassland bird, but differs in its size (being at least half as small as a meadowlark) and short conical bill, a common trait among the buntings. 

Male Dickcissel at Las Vegas NWR, San Miguel Co., NM, Summer 2015

This type of eastern-bird invasion reminds us just how close we are to the bird communities of the Eastern United States, while retaining our very Western-influence birds, like the Stellar Jays and Canyon Wrens of Gallinas canyon. Las Vegas NWR truly is a refuge where the Great Plains meet the Rockies, how lucky to be able to have this jewel in our backyard!

Canyon Wren shakes it out, Gallinas Canyon, Las Vegas NWR, San Miguel Co., NM

Summer in San Miguel County, New Mexico can be an extraordinary time to see breeding birds of the west. Burrowing owls, though increasingly rare in the county are still found in low numbers out on the short-grass plains. These migratory owls are truly unique within their kind in their ground-dwelling habits.

Burrowing Owl near Las Vegas NWR, June 2013.

Barn Swallow, with it's glossy dark blue colors and forked tail, these swift flyers are common birds at Las Vegas NWR from March to October.

Western Meadowlark belting out his gurgling dawn song.

Black-billed Magpie, this 1st year bird shows off his iridescent plumage. Black-billed Magpies are breeding birds throughout the Gallinas River area from Las Vegas to the mountains above town. These quintessential western birds reach their furthest eastern point here in Las Vegas.