Birding New Mexico

There’s a reason New Mexico’s nickname is “The Land of Enchantment.” Some of the most memorable and iconic photos of the West were taken in New Mexico. The state’s landscape includes rose-colored deserts, barren mesas, forested wilderness areas, and snow-caped peaks. The southernmost peaks of the Rocky Mountains, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, contribute to the enchantment. Millions of acres of New Mexico are protected by the federal government, including five national forests (Carson, Cibola, Lincoln, Santa Fe, and Gila), and the Gila Wilderness, which was the first in the country to gain that designation.

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  • New mexico Birding & Nature Festivals

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BWD Festival Finder

During the peak of bird migration, there's nothing more exciting than attending a birding festival. The birds are spectacular and the people are great. If you haven't tried a festival yet, this is a must-do for next season! Use BWD's Birding and Nature Festival Finder to help you select from the many available in special areas all over the country.
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Festivals in New mexico

Upcoming Festivals in the USA

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Tips for Easy Bird Identification
Tips for Easy Bird Identification
Identifying birds is at the very heart of bird watching. Each bird encountered is like a little puzzle or mystery to solve, because, while birds of a single species all share a certain set of physical traits, no two individual birds, like no two individual humans, are exactly alike.

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  • New mexico Birding Hotspots

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Greater roadrunner by Drumguy8800 / Wikimedia.

Birding New Mexico's Royal Road

Once a heavily traveled 1,500-mile trade route, El Camino Real, the Royal Road linked Mexico City with what is now Santa Fe and was used by indigenous peoples of the Southwest, adventurers, Spanish explorers, Catholic missionaries, and settlers in the 1600s and beyond. You can follow the Royal Road over a 225-mile stretch from Las Cruces to Albuquerque, where you’ll find desert, alpine forest, grassland, and riparian species at nearly a dozen excellent birding spots.
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More Hotspots in New mexico

  • Carlsbad Caverns National Park
    Carlsbad, New Mexico
  • Chaco Cultural National Historical Park
    Nageezi, New Mexico
  • Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
    Roswell, New Mexico
  • Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
    San Antonio, New Mexico
  • Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge
    Las Vegas, New Mexico