Datil Well Campground, New Mexico

I left Valley of Fires yesterday, it was getting too hot. I drove 130 miles west to Datil Well Campground. This area is at much higher elevation and although the forecast is for record high temps in New Mexico, it will only get to around 85 here. This is a BLM campground, with campground hosts, water, restrooms, but no showers. A few of the campsites have electric hookups but most don’t. Cost is $5.00 a day, $2.50 with my senior pass. When I first got here, I saw several Pinyon Jays and immediately put out some feeders. However, all I get at the feeders so far is some Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays, Juniper Titmice, and Mountain Chickadees. I have a Rufous Hummingbird and a Black-chinned Hummingbird too.

Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay. I have two of them, they are quite fearless once they get used to me. Using some almonds for bait, I can get them to pose on this rock with lichens.

I was talking with the campground hosts this morning, they said this area got 4.5 inches of rain in one storm, in less than an hour. It shows too, there is lots of erosion and an impressive bloom of flowers. This is some species of aster and is very abundant now.

Lots of paintbrush, I don’t know for sure which species this is, but it has been a long time since I’ve seen a red paintbrush.

This caterpillar was on the stem of the asters. I haven’t ID’d it yet.

2 replies on “Datil Well Campground, New Mexico”

That is a really cool caterpillar. Are you seeing a lot of smoke from the wildfires? It’s awful here, thick enough to mute the sunlight, and makes us cough if we’re outside.

No smoke here, it was kind of hazy for few days, but mostly clear blue sky.

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