Chihuahuan Wildlife Mescalero Sands Recreation Area

A GORP Content Partner Adapted from New Mexico Wildlife Viewing Guide by Jane S. MacCarter

In spring, lesser prairie chickens display a colorful courtship ritual. Males puff out air sacs on their throats and spread their wings as they strut.

Viewing Information: Male birds begin their courtship about one half hour before sunrise. Plan on a two-hour observation span. Contact the BLM Roswell Resource Area office for best dates and areas to visit. Occasional viewing of pronghorn and mule deer, as well as ladder-backed woodpecker, loggerhead shrike, mourning dove, scaled quail, and Swainson's hawk. The massassagua rattlesnake is also common here.

Directions: From downtown Roswell, take U.S. Highway 380 east for 46 miles to the Mescalero Sands Recreation Area on south side of highway, then proceed 2 miles east to the Walldrip Rest Area. Turn left (north) immediately across from the rest area to enter the Caprock Wildlife Habitat Area.

Closest Town: Roswell

Ownership: Bureau of Land Management (505) 627-0270

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