Birds of the Taos Box, Rio Grande (updated) Posted On: March 19, 2016 By: Britt Runyon Filed Under: Nature Tagged In: birds, Taos Box Birds of the Taos Box, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Birds love rivers! Some birds eat fish, some eat insects that hatch out of the river, some eat subsurface insects, and some eat river-grown vegetation. You know what the Great Blue Heron eats – everything that moves! Blue-winged Teal migrate up and down the Rio Grande. This is an American Dipper, or Water Ouzel. It dives to the bottom, where it probes for invertebrates, like the nymphs that fly fishermen imitate. Ouzels have been using this nest for decades! As can be seen, it’s located within splashing range of some whitewater. Guess the name of that whitewater! Yep, it’s Ouzel Rapid. The Black-crowned night heron comes out during the day, as well as at night. Either an immature or female Night Heron. Is this a Canadian goose or a Canada goose? He (or she) is the latter. If you get to close, they are known to become aggressive. They eat grasses and sedges along the river. Did your spot the gosling? Mother Mallard looking after her brood. What are these American cliff swallows up to? Well … they build spherical mud houses under overhangs. Seen here, flying back to the riverside cliff face with mud in their mouths. Spotted Towhees eat mainly insects. Spotted Towhees have a very interesting catlike mew call. One of the prettiest birds you’ll see along the river – the Western tanager. However, you have to be looking for them at the right time of the year. They are springtime migrants, for instance using the Rio Grande as a migration route. The Yellow-breasted Chat forages mainly on spiders and insects, including beetles, bugs, ants, bees, mayflies, cicadas, moths, and caterpillars. Not often seen is the Glossy Ibis. Glossy Ibis are able to forage both by sight and touch, therefore on either dry land and in the water. Certainly a real treat when spotted, another rarity is the Western Grebe. They stab their prey with a quick jab of the bill, feeding mostly on fish. Join New Wave for a day on the Rio Grande. Make your reservation HERE.