Roger's Birding Adventures: Third Time is the Charm for Streak-backed Oriole at Washington Ranch, NM! 3-16-14

I made the 285 mile (one way) trip to Rattlesnake Spring with Wyatt Eglehoff on Sunday. I picked Wyatt up at 2:45 a.m. for the 4.5 hour trip. A storm had passed through the evening before and US 285 south was a snowy and icy mess! I had go slow way down, but somewhere around 70 miles south of I-25 the roads cleared.

The Oriole had been found back in November by Bob Nieman who birds Rattlesnake Spring and Washington Ranch regularly. Rattlesnake Spring is part of Carlsbad Caverns National Park and has a picnic area, but no camping. As the name implies it is an amazing oasis out in the middle of the desert with huge cottonwoods and a pond and lush vegetation. An amazing list of rare birds has been observed here. It is also one of the best spots in the state to observe riparian, as well as desert species. I was here once and saw an Indigo Bunting, a Varied Bunting, a Painted Bunting, and a Lazuli Bunting lined up low on a fence wire - each a stunning male.

Washington Ranch is adjacent to Rattlesnake Springs, but is private property. Birders are welcome, but are required to check in to be sure it is okay as they do have many events there.

I have made this one-day 600 mile round-trip many times for some pretty hot birds including Piratic Flycatcher, Yellow-green Vireo, and Groove-billed Ani. I had got all of these on the first try, however the oriole had different plans. I dipped twice in December and then just sort of gave up on seeing it. But when it showed up at the Washington Ranch (right next to Rattlesnake Spring) for three days in a row I decided to give it a shot despite being sick with a miserable cold.

As we turned off of SR 162 (south out of Carlsbad and heads down into Texas) I couldn't believe how stunningly beautiful the Guadalupe Mountains were. It had snowed there too and the dawn light was just too perfect to pass up. I pulled over and started taking pics. Wyatt was getting a bet antsy as we were only a few minutes away from Washington Ranch, but this is probably the only time I'll see these conditions. After a few more shots we were on our way.

When we arrived there at 7:30 a.m. our friend Mouser Williams was already looking for the bird. He had found a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker which fortunately hung around and we all got some good pics of. Other interesting birds included a Stellar's Jay, Phainopepla, a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

By 7:50 a.m. the wind was howling. We discussed the wind and concluded to look down in a nearby raving where a huge flock of Chipping Sparrows were feeding. We walked down a short distance and I got a glimpse of an orange flash from a bird deep in the bushes on the ground. A moment later the oriole popped out! We yelled for Mouser and he got on the bird.

We couldn't believe our good luck. Not only did we see the bird, but it hung around from 8:30 a.m. until 9:10 a.m. giving us incredibly great looks! This was state bird #390. It was worth driving nearly 1,800 total miles for!

After getting some pics of an obliging pair of Cinnamon Teal we decided to drive back north to Roswell and then head on over to Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. We didn't stop at Brantley Lake, still in Eddy County, where there has been a Barrow's Goldeneye. We did, however, see a flock of White Pelicans as we drove by. We also encountered a small flock of Ring-billed Gulls migrating straight up US 285 as it cuts through the Chihuahuan Desert.

The wind was still blowing and I was feeling even worse, but the oriole gave me a big boost and Bitter Lake is a great place to bird.

There were still a fair number of ducks. We observed Northern Pintail, Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, and American Wigeon. There were also coot, Pied-billed and Eared Grebe, American Avocet (6), Greater Yellowlegs, and Snow Geese. Other birds included Northern Harrier, Scaled Quail, and Black-throated Sparrow.

We had fun playing with up to three Virginia Rails in a wet reed filled ditch. They were calling and running back and forth just a few feet away. Great looks!

We were surprised to see a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk sitting on top of a telephone in Torrence County. It was pretty skittish so the best shots I could get were through the front windshield. But what a great way to end a wonderful day of birding.

I arrived back home at 5:15 p.m. just 14.5 hours after leaving. Piece of cake!