Normally by late November the road up Elk Mt. (elev. 11,660′) near the headwaters of the Pecos River is closed due to snowpack.  Because of lack of snow the road remained open through Christmas in 2012.  We passed through the lower elevations of the mountain seeing little.  Higher up our fortunes began to shift as we encountered a boisterous group of Clark’s Nutcrackers caching food.  Higher still, a number of Red Crossbills were busy ripping apart cones at the top of spruce trees.  Once we passed treeline, bird activity ceased except for a lone Golden Eagle soaring majestically far above the top of the mountain.  Before our descent, we checked a side road in spruce forest and were rewarded with great looks at a family group of 3 Three-toed Woodpeckers (actually counting the toes on one!).  Several Gray Jays came in as well and I sacrificed the last of my granola bars for them.  The trip down included a close encounter with a group of 7 Pine Grosbeaks (most I’ve seen at one time) and inspired the following poetic burst by yours truly.

it is late fall

the days plunge shorter

yet the sun is as bright as any summer day

the leafless aspen twigs, devoid of insects

somehow feed this grosbeak flock

quietly murmuring, slowly foraging

the male’s red feathers

screaming its cause to the sky blue sky

despite the promise of breeding

still so many months away

We were invited to survey Campo Espinoso on the east side of Truth or Consequences.  Located close to the Rio Grande River this property includes several hundred acres of desert grassland surrounding Mim’s Pond, a spring fed marsh lined lake.  As fall migration was in full swing, we found an interesting mix of resident species, such as Verdin and Crissal Thrasher, as well as migrants such as MacGillivray’s and Virginia’s Warbler.  Fields planted by the owners provide much needed fuel for south bound migration and flocks of Yellow-headed Blackbirds were present in force to take advantage.  A couple of surprise migrants in the field were Painted Bunting and Dickcissel-both straying quite a bit southwest of their normal migration corridors.  By far the most unusual sighting of the day was a Philadelphia Vireo, quite rare for New Mexico.  Interestingly enough, an individual of the same species was reported the next day in Las Cruces, about 70 miles to the south.

The marshes around Mim’s Pond yielded Common Yellowthroat, Virginia Rail and Yellow-breasted Chat.  Some southbound hummingbirds were visiting the feeders, including Rufous and Broad-tailed.  WingsWest Birding looks forward to offering tours here beginning in the spring of 2013