New Mexico Journeys

Explorations in New Mexico.

2024

2020-May at Bitter Lake NWR, New Mexico
2020-May at Bitter Lake NWR, New Mexico

After several memorable months in Texas, even enduring the craziness and uncertainty of the earliest days of the pandemic, I began my first Texas Exodus in 2020-May. I was in…

2023

2023-04-13 Apache Creek NM
2023-04-13 Apache Creek NM

Last Tuesday (April-11) I left my friends in Thatcher, looking forward to spending some time with friends Debbie Merrill and her husband James. I met Debbie when I was working…

2023-04-12 Glenwood NM
2023-04-12 Glenwood NM

Invited to my friends’ New Mexico digs in Apache Creek, I drove east from the Safford/Thatcher region of Arizona. My route carried me through the upper basin of the Gila…

2020

2020-12-25 Christmas at Bitter Lake Near Roswell
2020-12-25 Christmas at Bitter Lake Near Roswell

In April 2020, as I was ending my first Texas birding adventure, I called my friend Jerry in Albuquerque and told him I was headed his way via Roswell. He…

2020-12-18&19 At The Bernardo Unit – Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex
2020-12-18&19 At The Bernardo Unit – Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex

Halfway between Albuquerque and Bosque del Apache is the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex – Bernardo Unit, where cranes and geese are now visiting more than at Bosque. My friend…

2020-12-17 Wednesday At The Rio Grande Nature Center
2020-12-17 Wednesday At The Rio Grande Nature Center

There is a small reserve on the northwestern edge of Albuquerque that I have enjoyed since some of my earliest visits to the region. It is the Rio Grande Nature…

2020-12-16 Tuesday Finches at 10,600′
2020-12-16 Tuesday Finches at 10,600′

Update: Folks with better eyes and ID skills than I have pointed out that there are some Gray-Crowned Rosy-Finches among the Black Rosy-Finches in some of my images. Another friend…

2020-12-09 A Morning in Corrales New Mexico
2020-12-09 A Morning in Corrales New Mexico

A friend of Jerry’s advised him that there were many cranes grazing in his Corrales neighborhood, so we drove there on Wednesday to investigate for ourselves. Jerry’s friend was right!…

2020-12-06 Wild Ducks at the Albuquerque Zoo
2020-12-06 Wild Ducks at the Albuquerque Zoo

Not everything you find at the zoo is captive. At least that has been my experience at several zoos I’m familiar with. As an example, the San Diego Zoo’s Wild…

2020-12-05 Bosque and New Mexico Falconry
2020-12-05 Bosque and New Mexico Falconry

My first awareness of the art of falconry came as a young lad in elementary school when I read the Hardy Boys Mystery series and found the story The Hooded…

2020-11-30 Monday at Bosque del Apache
2020-11-30 Monday at Bosque del Apache

I first visited Bosque del Apache in August 2003. Having heard of its legendary assembly of winter geese and cranes, I found a means for combining work in Santa Fe…

2020-11-29 Sunday At The Catwalk
2020-11-29 Sunday At The Catwalk

I left Arizona on Saturday and drove over a series of mountain ranges, hoping to visit the Catwalk in New Mexico near Glenwood. I always enjoy the scenery on the…

2020-05-20 Road From ABQ and Mount Graham
2020-05-20 Road From ABQ and Mount Graham

Two corrections: Thanks to the astute observations of readers Celestyn Brozek and Lori Conrad, I’ve learned my “Cassin’s Vireo” is the wrong Solitary Vireo. The proper identification is Plumbeous Vireo.…

2020-05-15: The Bosque at Tingley Beach
2020-05-15: The Bosque at Tingley Beach

Sadly, my friend Jerry has since passed away. He is sorely missed. My friend Jerry Goffe retired from his forensic photography business a few years ago and devoted his time…

2020-05-12: The Road to Bosque del Apache
2020-05-12: The Road to Bosque del Apache

Tuesday morning May 12th, after a few extra hours with the birds at Bitter Lake NWR outside of Roswell New Mexico, I drove a circuitous, winding route through Ruidoso. A…

2020-03-04 Wednesday At Dripping Springs
2020-03-04 Wednesday At Dripping Springs

My stay in Las Cruces was extended several days because of issues I had to sort out with my RV generator. All is well now as I send this post…

2020-03-02 Aguirre Springs In The Organ Mountains
2020-03-02 Aguirre Springs In The Organ Mountains

This morning, my friend Jerry and I said our goodbyes. Jerry headed back to his home in Albuquerque, and I started preparations to leave Las Cruces behind and head south…

2020-02-29 & March 1 At Mesilla Valley
2020-02-29 & March 1 At Mesilla Valley

Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park proved to be the best birding location in the Las Cruces area for my friend Jerry and I. I scouted the park briefly on Friday,…

2020-02-27 – Drive from Thatcher to Las Cruces
2020-02-27 – Drive from Thatcher to Las Cruces

Leaving Safford and Thatcher Arizona, I drove east towards New Mexico on the most remote roads I could find on the map. I traveled on roads ripe with twists, turns,…

2016

2016-03-24 Upper Gila River to Virden Bridge
2016-03-24 Upper Gila River to Virden Bridge

At Silver City I stayed at the KOA Campground. All the tanks I wished to be full, were showing low levels, and all those that I preferred to be empty…

2016-03-23 Homeward Past Bosque Del Apache
2016-03-23 Homeward Past Bosque Del Apache

2016-03-23 Wednesday Begins My Homeward Leg My stay with Jerry in Albuquerque was wonderful. My only regret was that I took so many pictures without processing or posting to my…

2016-03-21 Burrowing Owls of Los Lunas
2016-03-21 Burrowing Owls of Los Lunas

Jerry and I wanted to spend some quality time with his new owl buddies in Los Lunas. After an excellent breakfast, we drove south to find the birds. We stayed…

2016-03-20 & 22 Rio Grande Nature Center
2016-03-20 & 22 Rio Grande Nature Center

2016-03-20 and 22 On Sundays there is a regularly scheduled nature walk at the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park, and I joined the group on this day. Organized groups…

2016-03-19 Albuquerque Botanic Gardens
2016-03-19 Albuquerque Botanic Gardens

Saturday 2016-03-19 Shooting macro images of flowers is something that interested me early in my ‘career’, but I rarely do so anymore. Most of you reading this and who’ve known me…

2016-04-10 Sights South Of Albuquerque
2016-04-10 Sights South Of Albuquerque

Members of Jerry’s camera club recently described San Lorenzo Canyon to him. On Friday, 2016-03-18, we set out to find this place in the desert above the Rio Grande. We…

2016-03-17 A Day At The Albuquerque Zoo
2016-03-17 A Day At The Albuquerque Zoo

On Friday 2016-03-17 Jerry and I headed to the Albuquerque Zoo. I’d been there years ago (on Jerry’s advice) to photograph feral Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers, and I was…

2016-04-08 Hanging Out In Albuquerque
2016-04-08 Hanging Out In Albuquerque

The primary motivation for me to take this trip has been to hang with my friend of many years. Jerry is a first-rate photographer, and he loves nature photography for…