Spring Migration Birding Tour Photos

Thank You For Joining Us!

Our Spring Migration Birding Tour at La Joya Farms was a great success! It was a joy to share such a beautiful spring day with all of our guests – a day of great weather, beautiful birds, inspiring conversations, and delicious food. We had an extraordinary group of people attend and it was a wonderful to connect our circle of partners and supporters. A total of 66 bird species were spotted during the tour around La Joya Farms’ irrigated fields and riparian habitat – everything from elegant Black-necked Stilts, to soaring Swainson’s Hawks, to tiny Brewer’s Sparrows. The majority of them were spotted by Hank, whose love of birding and commitment to conservation was on full display Saturday morning. See the list here.

We would like to give a heartfelt thank you to Hank and Kelly Taliaferro for sharing their spectacular farm with all of us. The tour allowed us to showcase the land we’ve worked together to preserve over the last 15 years and the Taliaferro’s stellar land stewardship efforts to restore and enhance the land working in partnership with Victor and Matthew Saiz. Much of what we saw walking and driving around the farm was protected by conservation easements. We are eager to work with the Taliaferros to protect even more of their unique and special 1470 acre farm.

We want to give a special shout out to our amazing caterers, Matthew Saiz and Carlos McCord, who treated us to an unforgettable New Mexican feast. Every dish was prepared with care and intention, from the matanza-style pork slow roasted all night in an underground pit, to the calabacitas, and the local chiles and beans grown in Polvadera along with other traditional favorites.

Photos below by Arcie Chapa.

And we can’t forget our expert bird guides Quinn Martine, Jonathan Hayes, Amy Erickson, and Hank, who pointed out bird species, shared their vast knowledge of birds and their habitats, and provided us with natural history lessons along the way. (Bird photos below by Ynty Zamora).

Our birding tour event was a celebration of everything we strive to protect. We are so happy that we had the opportunity to share New Mexico’s beautiful landscapes, rich cultural traditions, and the extraordinary biodiversity of birds in the middle Rio Grande. Whether you came for the birds, the food, or the conversations around the table and out in the field, we hope you ended the day inspired by the land and the community members that care for it. We hope you will share information about RGALT’s work with your community of friends and family.

Complete Species List from Saturday, May 17th

Lark Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Green-tailed Towhee
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Bullock’s Oriole
Scott’s Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Lucy’s Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak