Harding County, NM

Northeastern New Mexico

Welcome to Harding County, NM

Birds

bald eagle

The bald eagle is a large raptor. The adults have the characteristic white head and tail and dark brown body. Juveniles are completely dark brown and do not develop the white feathers until the fifth or sixth year. Adults average three feet tall, weigh ten to twelve pounds, and have a wingspan of seven feet.1 Females are generally larger than males. The eagles mate for life, or until the death of their mate. Bald eagles may live up to thirty years in the wild.2

Habitat:
The southwestern bald eagle is found on rivers with an adequate prey base and nesting area. The home ranges generally exceed two miles along the river and half a mile wide on each side of the nest. The eagles build their nests in trees, cliffs, or pinnacles near the river.3

Range:
The southwestern bald eagle historic range cannot be accurately determined. The current range extends through Oklahoma and Texas west of the 100th meridian, all of New Mexico and Arizona, and California along the border of the Lower Colorado River. The eagle may also range into Baja California and parts of mainland Mexico.

Diet:
The eagle feeds largely on four kinds of fish: channel catfish, carp, Sonora sucker, and the desert sucker. Rabbits, coots, and other small mammals, birds, and other fish also make up part of the bird's diet.

Reproduction:
Breeding pairs begin nesting in November or December. The nest may be used year after year, eventually reaching nine feet in diameter and weighing as much as 2,000 pounds.2 Two to three eggs are laid from January to March. The eggs hatch from February to April. The eaglets spend up to two months in the nest and four to six weeks on the home range before dispersing.

Golden Eagles use their tremendous eyesight to locate prey. They prefer to attack upwind, to increase their aerodynamic control and maneuverability. The birds prey upon a variety of creatures from prairie dogs, cottontail rabbits, jackrabbits and ground squirrels to grouse, ducks, chukars, reptiles and smaller birds. One study that reviewed the list of Golden Eagle prey items in North America found the birds preyed upon (depending upon their location) 52 species of mammals, 48 birds, 5 reptiles and 2 fish. The birds will also feed on carrion, which sometimes results in death from vehicle collisions or poisoning.

hawk

Hawk

The Red-tail is the largest hawk, usually weighing between 2 and 4 pounds.  Hawks are carnivores (meat eaters) who belong to the category of birds known as raptors -- birds of prey. They have strong, hooked beaks; their feet have three toes pointed forward and one turned back; and their claws, or talons, are long, curved and very sharp. Prey is killed with the long talons and, if it is too large to swallow whole, it is torn to bite-sized pieces with the hawk's beak.  The adult Red-tailed Hawk is easily identified, for when it leaves its perch on slow, measured wing beats, or turns while soaring overhead, the broad, rounded tail shows a rich, russet red, hence the name. Within its range, its frequent soaring and loud voice are a good pointer.  The Red-tailed Hawk is a most opportunistic hunter. Its diet is varied, but there is conclusive evidence now that 85 to 90 % is composed of small rodents, with rabbits, snakes and lizards included. Like all hawks, its talons are its main weapons.

The Turkey Vulture is one of North America's largest birds of prey. It reaches a length of 32 inches with a wing span of 6 feet. Its overall color is brown-black with a featherless, red head, white bill and yellow feet among mature adults. Immature birds have a darker face. Although usually silent, the bird will occasionally emit a soft hiss or groan.

Vultures are best known for their practice of feeding on dead animal carcasses, but will occasionally attack young and helpless animals as well. They obtain much of their water from the moisture in carrion, and their powerful kidneys enable them to excrete less water when expelling waste products.

Turkey vultures, like other carrion birds, are protected from disease associated with decaying animals by a very sophisticated immune system. Their unfeathered "bald" head is easy to keep clean and is characteristic of vultures and condors throughout the world.

Unlike most birds, vultures have a keen sense of smell. Vultures are sometimes mistakenly called buzzards, the British name for buteos -- hawks of the Buteo genus.
 

Ground owl

Athene cunicularia
Size: 23 cm (9 in.)
Habitat/Range: The burrowing owl lives on the dry, short-grass prairie. They can be found west of the Mississippi River from southern Canada throughout the western U.S. south through Mexico and into South America.
Eating Habits: Burrowing owls feed on a wide variety of insects, small rodents, lizards, and birds, depending on location and time of year.
This small owl, about eight inches tall, has long bare legs, no ear tufts and a small facial disc. The owls are dusty brown with white markings on the belly and a prominent white chin stripe.

Kildeer

snow geese

These birds migrate in large flocks, often visiting traditional stopover habitats in spectacular numbers.

A larger subspeciesof this bird, the Greater Snow Geese (C. c. atlanticus), nests to the north of eastern Canada. The smaller subspecies, the Lesser Snow Goose (C. c. caerulescens), commonly occurs in two plumage variants. White phase birds are white except for black wing tips, but blue phase geese have bluish plumage replacing most of the white except on the head, neck and tail tip. White and blue phase birds do interbreed and the young may be of either type. Blue phase birds are rare among the Greater Snow Geese.

These birds mainly eat plant material, found in shallow water or on land. Outside of the nesting season, they usually feed in flocks. In winter, these birds feed on left-over grain in fields

sandhill crane

All herons tuck their necks in an "S" curve while flying and lack the long, fluffy tertials and red crown. The very rare Whooping Crane is white overall with black primaries and a different head pattern.

• Length: 37 inches Wingspan: 80 inches
• Large, long-legged, long-necked bird
• Long, pointed bill
• Holds neck straight both at rest and in flight, not tucking it in like herons do
• Dark gray legs extended in flight
• Long, fluffy tertials droop down over tail and primaries

Adult:

• Dark bill
• Unfeathered red crown and lores
• Entirely gray plumage, that often becomes stained with rust or brown, especially about the back and wings
• Whitish cheeks and chin

Juvenile:

• Feathered crown
• Gray-brown plumage mottled with cinnamon

Roadrunner

The Roadrunner is the New Mexico State Bird

Roadrunners are ground cuckoos, are any of about 15 species of birds constituting the subfamily Neomorphinae of the Cuckoo Family (Cuculidae), noted for terrestrial habits. There are 11 New World species, 3 of which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

The legendary Roadrunner is famous for its distinctive appearance, its ability to eat rattlesnakes and its preference for scooting across the American deserts.

When the Roadrunner senses danger or is traveling downhill, it flies, revealing short, rounded wings with a white crescent. But it cannot keep its large body airborne for more than a few seconds, and so prefers walking or running (up to 17 miles per hour) usually with a clownish gait.

The Roadrunner feeds almost exclusively on other animals, including insects, scorpions, lizards, snakes, rodents and other birds. Up to 10 % of its winter diet may consist of plant material due to the scarcity of desert animals at that time of the year.

Because of its lightening quickness, the Roadrunner is one of the few animals that preys upon rattlesnakes. Using its wings like a matador's cape, it snaps up a coiled rattlesnake by the tail, cracks it like a whip and repeatedly slams its head against the ground till dead.

It then swallows its prey whole, but is often unable to swallow the entire length at one time. This does not stop the Roadrunner from its normal routine. It will continue to meander about with the snake dangling from its mouth, consuming another inch or two as the snake slowly digests.
 

Long-billed Curlew
Numenius americanus
Size: 51-66 cm (20-26 in.)
Habitat/Range: Its habitats include prairies, salt marshes, and mud flats. Breeds Southwest Canada and Western United States. Winters in southern U.S. to Guatemala

Large shorebird with a very long, curved bill. It is cinnamon brown above and buff colored below.