Socorro (city only)

Tips for Birding

Four hotspots are located within the Socorro city limits (and many more within the county of the same name). This is the hotspot at which to report your city observations if you are not going to be specific with respect to where in Socorro you encountered birds. It is much easier to list all your birds for this single hotspot than to prepare multiple lists when you have birded in various areas of the city. Using this hotspot for your list avoids the confusion which would result from mistakenly listing particular species (or the number of individuals) at more-specific city hotspots where, in fact, they did not occur.

However, if for example you simply wandered around Otero Park, recording sightings specifically for the park hotspot would be more informative to researchers and other birders than recording for the general Socorro city hotspot. Likewise, should you be willing to keep track of where your observations occur across multiple specific eBird hotspots in the city (the remaining two specific hotspots within city boundaries are both located on the New Mexico Tech campus), such information can be quite helpful to other eBird users (or maybe yourself at a future date). This, of course, requires a familiarity with the location and extent of Socorro hotspots, help with which is precisely one of the purposes of this website.

The city environs extend on the east from the riparian habitat of the Rio Grande westward, and upward in elevation, into the Chihuahuan desert habitat. Although most homes in the city retain desert landscaping, some are dense with mixed native and non-native irrigated plantings. These are easily encountered on any of the three walking tour routes outlined by the City in its “Historic Walking Tour” brochure, but particularly along the route which takes you from the plaza south toward the library, west to Eaton Avenue (look for Great Horned Owl nesting in large cottonwoods), finally circling back toward the plaza and San Miguel church. Eastward on San Miguel Street is a striking mural of Sandhill Crane. Irrigation canals and numerous parks throughout the city also provide varied avian habitats. Indeed, eBird’s map “pin” locating the Socorro city hotspot is across the street from Sedillo Park, rather than at the verdant town plaza, as might be expected.

About Socorro

See all hotspots at Socorro

Socorro is located 75 miles south of Albuquerque, at an average elevation of 4,605 feet. The town lies adjacent to the Rio Grande in a landscape dominated by the Rio Grande rift and numerous extinct volcanoes. The immediate region encompasses approximately 6,000 feet of vertical relief between the Rio Grande and the Magdalena Mountains. Notable nearby locales include the Cibola National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management Quebradas Scenic Backcountry Byway, and the Bosque del Apache and Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuges.