Birds

Birds of Aztec Ruins National Monument

The riparian and pinon-juniper woodland areas, along with patches of once-cultivated grassy fields, orchards, and desert scrub all provide diverse habitats for birdlife in the park.

As part of the National Park Service’s Natural Resources Initiative, ornithologists conducted bird inventories in the park in 2001 and 2002. In addition, a multi-park grant from the National Park Foundation and Hawks Aloft provided for a survey in 2002 of neotropical migrant breeding birds. Prior to these recent inventories, volunteers from the local Audubon Society had compiled a bird checklist for the park that listed 74 species.

During the 2001 field season, a total of 53 species were detected. Of these species, 40 were in riparian habitats, and 14 of those were detected only in riparian zones. Thirty-seven species were detected in upland habitat, 12 of which were only found in uplands. Although no federally listed species of concern were detected, one State of New Mexico species of concern was detected, the yellow-billed cuckoo.

During the 2002 breeding season, a total of 58 species were detected, including six species previously undetected in the park. The yellow-billed cuckoo was not detected during this season. The two years of inventory yielded a detection of 63 species within the park.

Species detected in 2001-2002 during the bird inventory are listed below:

American Robin

American Kestrel

American Crow

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Barn Owl

Barn Swallow

Bewick’s Wren

Black-billed Magpie

Black-capped Chickadee

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-headed Grosbeak

Black-throated Sparrow

Blue Grosbeak

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brewer’s Blackbird

Brewer’s Sparrow

Bullock’s Oriole

Canada Goose

Cassin’s Kingbird

Chipping Sparrow

Cliff Swallow

Common Raven

Common Nighthawk

Common Yellowthroat

Eastern Meadowlark

European Starling

Evening Grosbeak

Gambel’s Quail

Greater Roadrunner

Great-horned Owl

House Finch

House Sparrow

Juniper Titmouse

Killdeer

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Lark Sparrow

Lazuli Bunting

Lesser Goldfinch

Mallard

Mountain Chickadee

Mourning Dove

Northern Flicker

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Pinyon Jay

Prairie Falcon

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-winged Blackbird

Ring-necked Pheasant

Say’s Phoebe

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Towhee

Turkey Vulture

Violet-green Swallow

Virginia’s Warbler

Western Bluebird

Western Kingbird

Western Meadowlark

Western Scrub Jay

Western Tanager

Western Wood-Pewee

White-breasted Nuthatch

White-crowned Sparrow

Wilson’s Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Yellow-rumped Warbler