Río Embudo Birds

About Río Embudo Birds

This website is in transition. This page is part of what I am now referring to as the Rio Embudo Birds "Legacy Website". Over time, portions of it will be superseded by pages in the under-construction NMDI: Bird-watching Resources WebTool.

In the winter of 2020-2021, I presented four Bird-watching Workshops for the Taos Land Trust. Much of the material that will be in the NMDI WebTool is available now in a separate WebTool created for those workshops. Some of that material is focused on the Rio Fernando Wetlands (associated with the Taos Land Trust). However, much of the material is applicable to any location. Here is the link: RFW Bird-watching Resources

NMDI Explained: New Mexico Dixon (NMDI) refers to a 15 mile diameter count circle that is part of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The center of the circle is about 2 miles southwest of the Dixon town center.

The circle includes Dixon, Apodaca, Cañoncito, Cuestacita, Ojo Sarco, Embudo, La Junta, La Cienaga, Rinconada, Velarde, La Canova and Lyden. It is bounded on the southwest by the Los Luceros presa; on the northeast by the Glen Woody bridge; on the southeast by the Harding Mine; on the South by la Iglesia de Santo Tomas in Ojo Sarco; on the north by Cerro Azul on the Kit Carson Mesa. More about the circle and about the CBC can be found here: Dixon CBC Page

The list of birds accessed from the left panel of the homepage is simply a list of all species that have been observed at least once in the NMDI area. It is based on reports from a variety of birders that live in the area as well as eBird and other reports.

Various birdwatchers have been recording sightings in this area since as early as 1969. (If anyone knows of earlier or other records, please contact me.) Jack Whetstone, a resident in Dixon from 1969 until 1976 kept detailed records of his bird sightings during that time. In 1997, Bob Weber, a Taos resident, began an Audubon Christmas Bird Count in the area. In 2001, I took over management of the count. I have kept detailed records of bird activity along the Río Embudo since 1999.

If you have questions, comments or bird sightings of interest, I can be reached at rt@rioembudobirds.org.

Robert Templeton, February 17, 2021

Use of Photographs:
Photographs on this site are by Robert Templeton and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the photographer. Permission to use the photos for educational, non-commercial purposes will be generally be granted.

Email Robert at: rt@rioembudobirds.org with a short description of how the photograph is to be used.