Leaders	Darren Rees and Simon Eaves
Flights	British Airways/American Airlines, Scheduled Outbound: Morning, Heathrow-Albuquerque Inbound: Overnight, Albuquerque-Heathrow (outbound and inbound via a US stop)

Day 1	Arrive Albuquerque and transfer to hotel - 3 nights Casas de Suenos.
Days 2-3	Birding at Rio Grande Nature Center, Petroglyph National Monument and Sandia Crest.
Day 4	Transfer south, with birding stops, to Socorro - 3 nights Best Western, Socorro.
Days 5-6	Visits to Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and the Magdalena Mountains.
Day 7	Travel south with birding stops at Elephant Butte Lake - 3 nights Holiday Inn, Las Cruces.
Days 8-9	Explore Organ Mountains, Mesilla Valley and White Sands National Monument.
Day 10	Travel north to Socorro for final evening at Bosque del Apache - 1 night Best Western, Socorro.
Days 11-12	Birding in morning, with return flight from Albuquerque in the afternoon. Arrive UK Day 12.

Weather	Variable in winter. At Sandia Crest snow is likely, so temperatures can vary between -5° to 20°C. Mostly sunny elsewhere, though early mornings cool. Layers recommended.
Walking	2-3 miles easy walking on well maintained trails, though snow likely at Sandia Crest. Walking boots recommended.
Meals	All included from dinner on Day 1 to lunch on Day 11.
Insects	It is unlikely that biting insects will be a problem, but we do advise you take repellent if you are at all susceptible.
Accom	Twin and single rooms all ensuite.
Group	12

Wonderful New Mexico, with stunning snow-capped mountains and arid desert scenery, plus staggering numbers of wintering cranes and geese at the famous Bosque Del Apache.

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	*   Tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese
	*   Four nights next to Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
	*   Incredible wildfowl numbers and eagles at Elephant Butte
	*   Desert wrens, sparrows and roadrunner
	*   High altitude rarities: all three species of rosy finch
	*   Spectacular White Sands National Monument
	*   Winter birding at its best

Days 1-3	We arrive in Albuquerque and have a short transfer to our first base for three nights, close to the Rio Grande. Nearby is the delightful Rio Grande Nature Center, a great place for our introduction to the birdlife of New Mexico. The visitor centre looks out over ponds filled with ducks, geese and turtles (we saw Porcupine last time!) Ring-necked Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Hooded Merganser, Green-winged Teal and delightful Wood Duck will start the list and wooded riverside trails lead to Northern Flicker, Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nuthatch and Black Phoebe. At Petroglyph National Monument we’ll admire the rock carvings from New Mexico’s indigenous people, as well as revelling in the desert landscape, with birds such as Rock Wren, Canyon Towhee and maybe our first Greater Roadrunner (Meep! Meep!) Next, we’ll explore the heights of Sandia Crest that rise above the desert to a summit of over 10,000 feet. Its slopes are covered in extensive pine forests, home to Steller’s Jay, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Williamson’s Sapsucker and rare Three-toed Woodpecker. At the summit, much-prized rosy finches attend feeders (with Tassle-eared Squirrels) and we’ll hope for all three species: Brown-capped, Black and Gray-crowned.
Days 4-6	We travel south to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, a highlight of our holiday. Based at nearby Socorro, we’ll schedule early morning and late afternoon visits to the refuge, to witness a true wildlife spectacle: tens of thousands of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes fly to and from their roosts, to a cacophony of clattering wings, honking and bugling! Smaller Ross’s Snow Geese mingle with the flocks and other waterfowl include Bufflehead, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup and Canada Geese. Raptors are attracted to the area and we’ll look out for Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Merlin, Northern Harrier and striking Ferruginous Hawk. As the light fades Coyote, Collared Peccary and Great Horned Owls stir! In the Magdelena Mountains, west of Socorro, we’ll search open areas for smart Pronghorn Antelopes and Golden Eagles. Higher, in wooded areas, we’ll look for Acorn Woodpeckers, Red-naped Sapsucker, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Western Scrub Jay, Juniper Titmouse and Red Crossbill.
Days 7-9	Leaving Socorro we drive south to Las Cruces, via Elephant Butte, the largest lake in New Mexico. Staggering numbers of duck winter here, with tens of thousands of American Wigeon, Redhead, Pintail and American Coot, attracting groups of Bald Eagles. We’ll have fun separating Western and Clark’s Grebes and we should also find White-fronted Geese, Neotropic Cormorants, Ring-billed Gulls, Ruddy Duck and Great Blue Heron. Patches of scrub close to the dam hold Black-throated Sparrow, Verdin, White-winged Dove, and Pyrrhuloxia. Further south, at Percha, we’ll search for other species of the arid regions: Scaled Quail, Crissal Thrasher, Phainopepla and Western Bluebird are present. From Las Cruces we’ll explore the woods, thickets and fields of Mesilla Valley. Wintering birds such as American Pipit, Loggerhead Shrike and Green-tailed Towhee join local Burrowing Owls to enjoy the winter sun. Dominating the eastern skyline are the imposing Organ Mountains and at Dripping Springs, residents include Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Cactus, Canyon and Rock Wren, plus Black-tailed Gnatcatcher - there are Mountain Lions too! Winter sparrows include Rufous-crowned, Sage and Black-chinned. Crossing the Tularosa Basin we reach one of the most dramatic landscapes in the world and another highlight. Snow-capped mountains surround the arid basin of White Sands National Monument - a photographer’s paradise, with the juxtaposition of white dunes, rugged peaks and blue skies. Birds will be small players on a grand stage, but we’ll look out for soaring Chihuahuan Raven, Golden Eagle and Prairie Falcon.
Days 10-12	Leaving Las Cruces we return north, birding enroute, to Socorro and a final evening visit to Bosque del Apache for a farewell to the spectacular crane and geese flocks. Well, we can’t get enough of them! After a last morning birdwatching, we travel to Albuquerque for our return flight, arriving UK on the morning of Day 12.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Snow Geese	Steller’s Jay	Western Bluebird
Sandhill Cranes	Gambell’s Quail	Lesser Goldfinch
Ross’s Goose	Say’s Phoebe	White-breasted Nuthatch
Cackling Goose	Acorn Woodpecker	Canyon Towhee
Canvasback	Williamson's Sapsucker	Western Scrub Jay
Wood Duck	Juniper Titmouse	Black-throated Sparrow
Bald Eagle	Scaled Quail	Verdin
Greater Roadrunner	Crissal Thrasher	Canyon Wren
Brown-capped Rosy Finch	Phainopepla	Rock Wren
Black Rosy Finch	Pyrrhuloxia	Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch	Bewick’s Wren	Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Townsend’s Solitaire	Western Bluebird	Sage Sparrow
Cactus Wren	Juniper Titmouse	Black-chinned Sparrow