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.
Overview: 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.
Twenty other areas are in the National Park System, including Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and Chaco Cultural National Historical Park. Eastern New Mexico features Llano Estacado, or shortgrass prairie, which once sustained buffalo.
The Chihuahuan Desert extends through the south of the state, while the high desert of the Colorado Plateau is in the northwestern corner. In west-central New Mexico are the mountains, with pinon-juniper woodlands, spruce-fir, and aspen forests, and even alpine tundra at high elevations. The state boasts 556 bird species, according to eBird, while the state bird records committee recognizes 546 species.
