Yesterday we drove over to the San Simon Cienega which used to be a New Mexico State Conservation area, but since the water table in that valley is being pumped for agriculture the area is dying. Huge Cottonwood trees are crumpled to the ground, their roots no longer reaching the water level. A couple of these magnificent trees are clinging to life and after the heavy rains in September, actually look pretty good. There are also huge Desert Willows that are surviving. The biggest Desert Willows I've ever seen!
There are always birds when we go there. Red Tailed Hawks, Meadowlarks, Sparrows, Red Shafted Flickers and even Cardinals. Last summer there was a family of Great Horned Owls with 3 fledglings! It's a pleasant location that is easy to reach with our little Tacoma. Don't even need 4 Wheel Drive. We kept hearing Sand Hill Cranes honking, but never did see any flying over or feeding in the tall grass, so I guess their sound was carrying from the corn fields south and west of the Cienega. Besides birds, there were still a lot of Grasshoppers, Butterflies and a few Lizards running around.
There are always birds when we go there. Red Tailed Hawks, Meadowlarks, Sparrows, Red Shafted Flickers and even Cardinals. Last summer there was a family of Great Horned Owls with 3 fledglings! It's a pleasant location that is easy to reach with our little Tacoma. Don't even need 4 Wheel Drive. We kept hearing Sand Hill Cranes honking, but never did see any flying over or feeding in the tall grass, so I guess their sound was carrying from the corn fields south and west of the Cienega. Besides birds, there were still a lot of Grasshoppers, Butterflies and a few Lizards running around.
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