Recent Birds at Rio Bosque
After being off for almost a month, water deliveries to the park from the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant resumed 3 November. The wetland cells are starting to refill, and flows are gradually advancing along the old river channel.
Since 25 May, a pair of White-tailed Kites has been present. They continue to show no evidence of nesting.
Burrowing Owl activity has been slow, but owls have been seen in recent weeks at 3 different burrow sites.
American Crows and Chihuahuan Ravens began returning to Rio Bosque in mid-October. Their numbers swelled rapidly, and over 1,500 are now returning each day near sunset to roost in and near the park.
Sizeable numbers of Yellow-headed Blackbirds are using the large cattail stands in the wetland cells.
Summer residents have moved on. Southbound migrants continue to appear, with the mix of species changing daily.
You can download the current field checklist for the park here.
You can view recent Rio Bosque bird observations posted to eBird .
| Species | Date | Number |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 15 Nov | 1 |
| White-tailed Kite | 14 Nov | 2 |
| Harris's Hawk | 14 Nov | 1 |
| Burrowing Owl | 14 Nov | 1 |
| Turkey Vulture | 12 Nov | 1 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 12 Nov | 2 |
| Loggerhead Shrike | 12 Nov | 1 |
| Crissal Thrasher | 12 Nov | 1 |
| Wilson's Snipe | 11 Nov | 1 |
| Lark Bunting | 7 Nov | 1 |
| Neotropic Cormorant | 5 Nov | 1 |
| Black Phoebe | 5 Nov | 1 |
| Cave Swallow | 5 Nov | 5 |
| Western Screech-Owl | 3 Nov | 1 |
| Yellow-headed Blackbird | 29 Oct | 50 |
| Sandhill Crane | 26 Oct | 250 |
| Green Heron | 22 Oct | 3 |
| Barn Owl | 21 Oct | 1 |
| Eastern Phoebe | 20 Oct | 2 |
