One of the reasons Albuquerque seems so tropical during summertime is the dramatic annual appearance of snowy egrets, waterbirds that fly up the Rio Grande from the Gulf of Mexico and nest in the cottonwoods along the river. They eat the usual assortment of riparian fauna, like fish, frogs, and crawfish. Here are three other fun summer birds.
- The spotted sandpiper is another waterbird that loves desert streams, ditches, and drains. Is fond of eating snails.
- We have many species of blackbirds in New Mexico but this one is perhaps the most dramatic. The yellow-headed blackbird like alfalfa fields and the drains alongside of them, where it feeds on insects.
- One of the most charming of the little birds, the Townsend warbler is dramatic when flying in flocks. Another insect-eater.