How to read Shipman's field notes
2006-09-01: NM: Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Turtle Bay
Notable: Great Crested Flycatcher
@TBay: Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Turtle Bay
Film
1030: F3 was empty; loaded with VC-400. [1] Curve-billed
Thrasher. [2] Dragonfly.
2006-09-02: NM: Socorro
@Diag: Socorro: Hope Farms Diagonal
From Otero St. in Socorro, go west over the railroad
tracks, and take the next paved road to the right: Hope
Farms Road. Follow this road south until the center
stripe disappears, and shortly there will be a good dirt
road angling off to the southeast along the left side of
a channel. This road is "The Diagonal", and has been
productive of good migrant sparrows in prior years.
@Soc: Socorro
@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
The Diagonal was alive with countless thousands of small
yellow butterflies with a wingspan of about an inch.
2006-09-05: NM: Socorro Co.
@Diag: Socorro: Hope Farms Diagonal
See 2006-09-02 notes for description.
@SocCo: Socorro Co.
@WC: Magdalenas: Water Canyon
@WCRd: Magdalenas: Water Canyon Road
@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Route
1140, leave town for the Magdalenas. Birthday bird time.
Sat around Water Canyon most of the afternoon,
proofreading old Christmas Bird Counts. Brief hikes up
the Water Canyon trail, and up to the new campsite under
construction near the Copper/North Fork turnoff, limited
by knee problems. Left 1645, drove along Hope Farms Road
and "The Diagonal".
Film
Started with VC-400 partial roll. [,17] Eastern
Meadowlark microdot. [24,] Pronghorn buck off Water
Canyon Road, then buck, doe, and fawn off US-60. 1750,
finished VC-400, loaded Kodak UC-100 ultra-color
negative film, more Pronghorn family shots. Roll
finished 1850, near sundown. F3 not reloaded.
All the flatlands had a terrific growth of tall grasses
with lush seedheads. It was up to the bellies of the
four Pronghorn I saw out grazing. The heavy rains,
somewhere around 2-3x normal, have been good to the range
this summer.
2006-09-10: NM: Socorro: Hope Farms Road
@Hope: Socorro: Hope Farms Road
2006-09-17: NM: Socorro County
Notable: Phalaropus sp.
@BdA: Bosque del Apache NWR
@Board: Bosque del Apache NWR: Boardwalk pond
@Diag: Socorro: Hope Farms Diagonal
See 2006-09-02 for this locality.
@JO: Luis Lopez: Oldenettel residence
@LL: Luis Lopez area
Just east of NM-1 on Farm-Market Road (A-101), there is a
good-sized temporary pond north of the road.
@Midway: Midway (between San Antonio and Luis Lopez)
@SAnt: San Antonio
@Soc: Socorro
@SocCo: Socorro County
@TBay: Socorro: New Mexico Tech: Turtle Bay
@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Route
0930, work Turtle Bay. 1020, drive south. 1100-1145,
lunch, then on to Bosque del Apache. Drove center road to
seasonal road, hiking the entire eastbound leg of the
seasonal road both ways, finishing the hike around 1300.
Then worked the Marsh Loop. 1500, exit.
Film
F3 was empty. 0930, loaded Fuji Pro 160. 1445, finished
roll, load Fuji Reala 100. This roll was shot through
frame 23 on this date. It was removed on 09-22 with
no shots added, and processed as is.
2006-09-20: NM: Socorro: 507 Fitch
Notable: Plumbeous Vireo
@home: Socorro: 507 Fitch
2006-09-22: NM: Clovis-Melrose Woods-Boone's Draw-Carlsbad
Notable: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher; Orange-crowned Warbler; Townsend's Warbler
@Boone: Boone's Draw
@Clovis: Clovis area
@MW: Melrose Woods
Also known as the famous Melrose Trap.
@day: Clovis-Melrose Woods-Boone's Draw-Carlsbad
Route
Stayed in Clovis the previous night. Arrived at Melrose
Woods around 0945. 1230, leave Melrose, lunch in Clovis.
1500, arrive Boone's Draw: drove halfway in, chickened
out; could have driven the rest of the way, but don't
take the left fork at the drop-off. Walked in and around
the first road loop. 1630, head for Carlsbad.
Film
Removed roll of Fuji Reala 100 that was on frame 23.
Eventually I put this roll (2006-09-17t1445->09-22t1000)
in for processing without any more shots; all shots on
that roll were on 2006-09-17. At 1000 today, loaded
Kodak VC-400. [1,2] Kinglet. [5] Empidonax.
[8] mystery warbler (gray back). [12] Orange-crowned
Warbler, also [,19]: most at 1/250, one at 1/500.
[21,23] scruffy Chipping Sparrow. [,25] Townsend's
Warbler.
2006-09-23: NM: Carlsbad-Rattlesnake Springs-Carlsbad
@RS: Rattlesnake Springs
@day: Carlsbad-Rattlesnake Springs-Carlsbad
Route
0640, first light at White's City.
0650, gate to Rattlesnake Springs, parked in the loop
past the ranger's residence.
1220, leave Rattlesnake. Caught up on sleep in Carlsbad.
Met Jonathan Batkin at Rattlesnake; he saw a
Red-shouldered Hawk here yesterday, but I missed it.
2006-09-24: NM: Rattlesnake-Brantley-Bitter Lake-Lincoln
Notable: Osprey; Peregrine Falcon; Semipalmated Plover; Black Tern; Common Tern
@Bit: Bitter Lake NWR
@BrL: Brantley Lake: Cheapskate Point
@Cbd: Carlsbad
@RS: Rattlesnake Springs
@Sal: Lincoln Co.: Salazar Canyon
@day: Rattlesnake-Brantley-Bitter Lake-Lincoln
Route
0645, enter Rattlesnake Springs. 0900, left, nothing
much going on, drove to Brantley Lake.
Took the turnoff to what the birders call "Cheapskate Point",
which has a street sign: Champion Cove Road.
1040, head for lunch in Roswell.
1325, arrive at Bitter Lake; looked around the old office
building (the huge new Skeen interpretive center wasn't
open yet), then drove around the loop.
1410, walked a short distance down the Oxbow Trail at the
southeast corner of the loop.
1515, head west on US-70/380.
1635, arrive at Salazar Canyon just west of Lincoln;
drove the canyon up to the private property posting.
1715, leave Salazar westbound.
Film
1030, finish Fuji 160; start Kodak VC-400.
Several Mule Deer around RS early, also two Coyote
incautious enough to be seen crossing the road.
Jonathan Batkin told me he'd seen a Laughing Gull
at Brantley two days ago, but I saw no identifiable
gulls.
