Southwest Excursion -- Monte Vista and Alamosa National Wildlife Refuges

Looking for birds

Scott was planning a trip to visit friends in Utah and, originally, I was planning to stay home because I am spending way too much money traveling. But, then I discovered that I had 38,000 HiltonHonors points and that the Hampton Inn in Lordsburg, N.M., could be had for 10,000 points a night. Whoo Hooo! A trip that would cost only gasoline! I was off.

After going to Patagonia Lake BEFORE I got my 600mm lens; after seeing tons and tons of pictures on the Birding – Arizona and the Southwest website; and after reading that the top birding sites in the U.S. are in southern Arizona, I decided a quick trip south was in order. I couldn’t stay long because I had sent my new camera off to Canon to correct an intermittent freezing problem (ACK) and it was due back at the end of the week. Plus, how long can I be gone? (Well, I could be gone all the time, but there really are things I should do at home).

So, I decided to start by heading southwest to Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge ...

Yellow-headed Blackbird

... then going south to Lordsburg, which I would use as a base to visit Chiricahua National Monument ...

Chiricahua

... Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument ...

Gila Cliff Dwellings

... and – possibly – Patagonia Lake ... 

Far south Arizona

On the way back, I thought I might check out Rio Grande del Norte National Monument as well ...

Rio Grande

I started really early in the morning so that I could get to Monte Vista by its official opening time of 7:30 a.m. Monte Vista is in southwestern Colorado in the San Luis Valley, fairly close to Great Sand Dunes National Park. In the spring, it is a major Sandhill Crane stopover and, at times, it also hosts White-Faced Ibises, which I am still trying to find to photograph. No luck on this trip.

Well, it turns out that “opening at 7:30 a.m.” really applies only to the loop drive. There are plenty of areas accessible by county roads that are “open” 24/7. I could have gone the night before to catch sunrise. But, on one count, it turned out that my timing was perfect. After I located a kiosk with maps, I stopped at a pullout that looped away from the road and was shaded by some of the few trees in the area (most of Monte Vista is marsh and/or agricultural fields). I got out of the car to stretch and survey the area and saw a large raptor fly from one tree to another. An investigation revealed a young (looked like a recent fledgling) Great Horned Owl in a tree.

He was looking at me

I will admit that I climbed over the low fence and walked right under the tree to get some shots. Then, I walked balk along the fence (on the “legal” side) and discovered four more GHOs – an adult and three more juveniles – in another tree. 

What's this?

One ...

An adult

... two ...

Youngster

... three and four ...

More kids!

A great find!

A whole family!

After taking lots of photos, I was getting ready to leave, when one of the young owls flew. I missed the actually flight, but found him in another tree. It was odd light – dark in the tree with bright morning sun hitting me from the side. I couldn’t really tell if my photos were coming out. Boy, was I thrilled when I finally downloaded them: my best-ever GHO pictures. 

What a gorgeous bird!

By now, it was time to drive the loop road. It was obvious that the large numbers of birds that pass through Monte Vista had migrated on. But, I did find a treasure trove of Yellow-headed Blackbirds. 

A marvelous bird

I have seen these beautiful birds years ago in Yellowstone (one of our favorite dumb questions: we asked a ranger, “What are those pretty yellow-headed blackbirds?” She answered, “Oh, you mean the Yellow-headed Blackbirds?” Thanks, Captain Obvious!). And, I had gotten a rather poor photo of one at Belmar Park in Lakewood. But, this outing remedied all bad/missed Yellow-headed Blackbird pictures. Lots of fun with these active and brilliant birds.

Well-named

Past a lake and marsh with lots of birds ...

Song Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Great-tailed Grackle

The Monte Vista loop travels along irrigation canals and more lakes.

The lake

I saw a variety of ducks. Nothing was new, but I did get better pictures of Northern Shovelers ...

A pair

... Ruddy Ducks  ...

A rather drab female

Males with their bright blue bills

Plus, I saw some Cinnamon Teals ...

Female Cinnamon Teal

... and some American Coots ... 

Taking off

 ... including one new find -- baby Coots ...

Awww....

These odd-looking creatures have red heads and fuzzy red/orange feathers.

They look a little like floating flowers

As I was driving to Monte Vista, I had passed Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge a few miles back. I decided to go back and check it out as well. First, I went back to check on the owls. I could see no trace of them. I sure was lucky to find them when I stopped.

So, it was on to Alamosa.

Alamosa, Monte Vista and Baca (which I didn't visit) National Wildlife Refuges comprise the San Luis Valley Refuges Complex. These Refuges are a part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, a network of lands set aside and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specifically for wildlife.

Monte Vista has 14,804 acres of artificially created wetlands that provide habitat for a wide variety of waterfowl and other birds.

A good place for birding

The 12,026-acre Alamosa NWR includes wetland areas, riparian corridors, wet meadows and river oxbows. I did not tour the entire refuge, mainly just a loop through more wetlands.

Pretty reflection

I saw more Yellow-headed Blackbirds ...

King of the reeds

... Lots of Red-winged Blackbirds ...

Another wetlands bird

... Ruddy Ducks ...

Brightly colored

... Cinnamon Teals ... 

Named well

... and Blue-winged Teals ...

A handsome male

Neither of the Visitor Centers was open on the day I was there (Thursday) and I saw only two other cars.

The 92,500-acre Baca Refuge is a diverse combination of shrublands, grasslands, wet meadows, playa wetlands and riparian areas. I will have to visit it next time. Plus, I need to go back to Monte Vista to see the owls again.

I hope he's waiting for me

Trip date: June 10-14, 2016