Recent Birds at Rio Bosque
Water continues to be delivered to the wetland cells. Both Cell 1 and Cell 2 are ~70% flooded. The park's resident beaver has built a new dam along the old river channel, near the windmill. Deep water is present in the channel upstream of the dam. Downstream, water from from Cell 1 is providing a shallow flow in the channel.
A Virginia Rail is currently in the cattails on the west side of Cell 1, calling persistently.
Burrowing Owl activity is perking up as we move into the breeding season. Five sites are moderately active. Look for these birds around the artificial burrow structures located on earthen mounds scattered throughout the park.
On 18-20 March, an adult male Vermilion Flycatcher was working along the margins of Cell 1.
The first summer-resident breeding bird to return to the park this spring was a Black-chinned Hummingbird on 5 Apr. It was followed by a Western Kingbird on 8 Apr, a Swainson's Hawk on 12 Apr and a Bell's Vireo on 13 Apr.
You can download the current field checklist for the park here.
You can view recent Rio Bosque bird observations posted to eBird here.
Species | Date | Number |
Green Heron | 19 Apr | 1 |
Cooper's Hawk | 19 Apr | 1 |
Swainson's Hawk | 19 Apr | 1 |
Burrowing Owl | 19 Apr | 1 |
Belted Kingfisher | 19 Apr | 1 |
Bell's Vireo | 19 Apr | 1 |
Crissal Thrasher | 19 Apr | 1 |
Monk Parakeet | 18 Apr | 7 |
Common Yellowthroat | 18 Apr | 1 |
Northern Cardinal | 18 Apr | 1 |
Cinnamon Teal | 17 Apr | 2 |
Black-necked Stilt | 17 Apr | 20 |
White-faced Ibis | 17 Apr | 4 |
Baird's Sandpiper | 16 Apr | 2 |
Orange-crowned Warbler | 16 Apr | 1 |
Osprey | 15 Apr | 1 |
Barn Owl | 15 Apr | 1 |
Neotropic Cormorant | 13 Apr | 1 |
Blue-winged Teal | 12 Apr | 4 |
American Avocet | 12 Apr | 2 |
Sharp-shinned Hawk | 12 Apr | 1 |
Black Phoebe | 12 Apr | 1 |
Bufflehead | 10 Apr | 1 |
Virginia Rail | 8 Apr | 1 |
Sora | 8 Apr | 2 |
Black-crowned Night-Heron | 8 Apr | 2 |
Ring-billed Gull | 6 Apr | 10 |
Loggerhead Shrike | 6 Apr | 1 |
Black-throated Sparrow | 6 Apr | 1 |
Great Horned Owl | 1 Apr | 1 |
Harris's Hawk | 27 Mar | 2 |
Wilson's Snipe | 26 Mar | 2 |
Tree Swallow | 26 Mar | 1 |
Peregrine Falcon | 21 Mar | 1 |
Cave Swallow | 21 Mar | 10 |
Vermilion Flycatcher | 20 Mar | 1 |