The Montezuma Quail, once eliminated, has recently been reintroduced, and the rare Spotted Owl can be found here. But birding in Guadalupe Mountains National Park is less about the uniqueness or the rarity and more about the sheer diversity. Phainopeplas and Pyrrhuloxias winter here, and do three sp...

Snow-doffed mountain peaks drop away to reveal dramatic river canyons and solitary mesas in sparsely populated New Mexico, a state known for its arid landscapes but for that, endowed with plenty of forested wilderness and long meandering rivers. New Mexico’s topography and southerly location...

Yes, Guadalupe Mountains National Park is part of Texas. But prepare to set aside your preconceptions about a typical Texas landscape here. Sure, there’s desert all around. But things can get decidedly less dry in the stretch of mountains protected by park boundaries. Encompassing the state’s highe...

While many parts of the nation bundle up come winter months, the state of Texas stays comparably mild. Sure, in recent years there’s the occasional surprise snow flurry here and there, but that should do nothing to deter you from putting this Gulf Coast state down on your list of places to b...