Page 97 - Volume 3 - Walks In The Black Range

Rabb Park Trailhead, .8 miles from NM-152.
vehicle it would have been easy to drive to the trailhead on the day we did this walk (November 17, 2020).
The trail winds its way through forest of juniper (including some large alligator juniper), Pinyon Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and oak. Agave parryi, like that shown at the bottom of the previous page, is fairly common along the trail.
After we crossed the first ridge we entered a flat area before we entered the park. Here we found a species of small tarantula (Aphonopelma madera?) sharing the trail with us (photo below). Species determinations in this genus are difficult and (perhaps because of that) the taxonomy is fluid. Recent efforts may have settled things, we shall see...
Just before the trail enters the park it passes a narrow section of stream where the bedrock forces water to the surface creating a ciénega-like section of stream, see photo on next page. The trail is on the slope to the west of the stream at this point. We chose to walk along the stream, a nice experience.
After passing this section, the park opens to the north. A large relatively flat area where the Ponderosa Pines grow tall and the Alligator Juniper are happy all day long.
The park is criss crossed with streams (dry in this year of no monsoon) and is full of bird life. Mostly, we saw Mountain Chickadee, Common Bushtit, and Dark-eyed Juncos (Grey- headed group). There was also a female Williamson’s Sapsucker about (photo in two pages). In winter, this area is at the very northern tip of its range.