Public Multi-Day Tour in Colorado
New Mexico: Wings of Winter
Experience New Mexico in winter, a season when magnificent flocks of Sandhill Cranes, Snow, and Ross’s Geese fill the skies.
Price Per Person:
$2,350 double occupancy
$3,025 single occupancy
Tour Features
Availability:
Group Size:
Highlights:
January 16 – 21, 2026
5 – 8 participants
Rare Birds ● Birdwatching ● Photography ● Conservation ● High Desert Birding
Availability: January 16 – 21, 2026
Group Size: 6 – 8 participants
Highlights: Rare Birds ● Birdwatching ● Photography ● Conservation ● High Desert
About New Mexico: Wings of Winter
Discover the magic of New Mexico in winter, where some of North America’s most unforgettable birding spectacles come to life. Each January, the Rio Grande Valley transforms into a stage for tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese, their calls echoing across the desert skies as they lift off in great waves of motion. In the mountains above Santa Fe and Los Alamos, we’ll search for western specialties like Pinyon Jay, Williamson’s Sapsucker, and Cassin’s Finch, while the wide-open grasslands harbor hunting Ferruginous Hawks, Prairie Falcons, and winter flocks of longspurs.
Price
$2,350 double occupancy
$3,025 single occupancy
Availability
January 16 to 21, 2026
Meeting Point
Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ)
Participation Requirements
This tour is designed for intermediate birders and photographers. We consider the difficulty level to be moderate, with most of the birding being close to roadsides and trails with slight uphill’s and downhills. Expect early morning starts and long drives, but we will make sure the trip is broken up with plenty of out-of-vehicle time. Rest and relaxation time will be built in throughout the tour.
What’s Included
- 5 nights accommodation at 2- and 3-star hotels
- Transportation
- Professional driver and guide
- Meals listed on itinerary
- Snacks
- Non-alcoholic beverages
What’s NOT Included
- Flights
- Alcoholic beverages
- Travel insurance
- Souvenirs
- Personal services (laundry, massages, minibar expenses, phone calls, etc.)
What To Bring
A packing list will be provided for all trip participants.
Altitude
Excursions will be in areas between 4,000 and 10,500 feet above sea level.
Arrival and Departure Information
Please book a flight that arrives at Albuquerque International Sunport before 3 pm on Friday, January 16, 2026. Your guide will meet the group at the airport at the earliest available time (after all participants have arrived) to start the tour promptly. For departure, please book a flight that departs from Albuquerque International Sunport after 6 pm on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. Please note, lodging is not provided on the night of January 21, 2026.
Nature & Wildlife On This Tour
Some of the wildlife living in the areas explored during this tour:
Birds: Sandhill Crane, Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose, Vermillion Flycatcher, Greater Roadrunner, Burrowing Owl, Sagebrush Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Crissal Thrasher, Verdin, Phainopepla, Pyrrhuloxia, Scaled Quail, Gambel’s Quail, Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Black Rosy-Finch, Cassin’s Finch, Evening Grosbeak, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Red Crossbill, Mountain Bluebird, Pinyon Jay, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Canyon Wren, Rock Wren, Sandhill Crane, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Western Grebe, Clark’s Grebe
Mammals: Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Elk, Collared Peccary, Pronghorn, Red Squirrel, Abert’s Squirrel, Beaver, Long-tailed Weasel, Coyote, Red Fox
WINGS OF WINTER Tour Reviews
RYAN GIVES HIS ALL!!
Our 3-day tour with Ryan was beyond good! It was as good as it gets! We are fairly seasoned amateur birders and we contacted Ryan with a specific list of hard-to-find birds we’d been hoping to see that accommodated all of our birding needs in an effective and efficient manner. Ryan is an excellent tour organizer; he was prepared for all occasions – including outfitting us with crampons and poles for the mountain climbs in snow at Loveland Pass, and packing lunch for us every day. He was also very flexible when we needed a Plan B to look elsewhere for a target bird. Ryan is the complete birding guide. He has all of the exceptional skills one would expect from an expert birder – his birding by ear talent is remarkable. And, he also knew the species of every tree, plant and wildflower that we came across. His knowledge of the geology, natural and social history of Colorado is equally impressive. It’s not for nothing that he holds a PhD in natural sciences! Ryan is a guide, an educator, a conversationalist as well as a very good listener – all the qualities one would want from a guide while driving to remote and spectacularly scenic places all over Colorado.And, above all, his good humor, upbeat and attentive way of being made our trip such a pleasure. Don’t miss your chance to take a tour with him!
My husband has used a wide variety of bird guides on 5 continents during nearly 40 years of birding, and Ryan was the best of the best. His guiding expertise, avian knowledge, and technical and photographic skills were exceptional. In addition, he is a great conversationalist. My husband has a moderate visual impairment and Ryan was incredibly accommodating and patiently helped him to find every bird. If you have the opportunity to bird with Ryan, grab it.
My friend and I are avid birders and we have been traveling together to add new species to our life lists for many years. When going to a new location we often hire a local guide to help us find specific species. We had three days in Colorado in April 2024 and we booked Ryan Dibala to be our guide. We had 8 target, very difficult, high elevation birds on our list and he put us on all of them and with excellent views.(White-tailed Ptarmigan, Brown-capped and Gray-crowned Rosy-finch, Greater Sage-Grouse and Dusky Grouse, Pine Grosbeak, Pygmy Nuthatch and Greater Prairie Chicken.) Absolutely Amazing! He drove us in his well equipped jeep, very safely on the mountain roads in both fog and snow. When the weather changed and some roads were closed he quickly and confidently suggested alternative plans and we visited Wyoming. Each day he provided a delicious lunch, snacks, water and fresh coffee made in a camp pot. He even provided crampons for our boots to help us walk on the icy snow. My friend and I are both photographers and Ryan patiently waited as we took hundreds of photos.
He brought his scope to help locate ducks on the Wyoming lakes. We covered a lot of miles in three days and birded at our pace. Ryan prepared 21 eBird checklists of the over 95 species we saw and a shared a trip report. His knowledge of the area, birds and animals and the environment in general along with his friendly sharing manner made this an outstanding memorable trip. I highly recommend Ryan.
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