North Roosevelt Trap, AKA Melrose Trap, AKA Cottonwood Spring

The North Roosevelt Trap, also know as the Melorse Trap, and locally as Cottonwood Spring, is located 10 miles west of Melrose in Roosevelt County on the eastern high plains  of New Mexico.   The trap is accessed from US-60/84 between Ft. Sumner and Clovis, NM about 1/4 mile north of milepost 354.  There is an unsigned entry gate on the highway (please keep the gate closed).  The location is about a 3.5 hour drive from Albuquerque to the west, 2 hours from Roswell to the south, 0.5 hour from Clovis to the east and a little over two hours from Lubbock or Amarillo, TX to the east.  Albuquerque, Amarillo, and Lubbock are the nearest major air ports.

The trap consisits of about 2 acres of Cottonwood and Poplar trees, up to 60 ft. tall,  isolated in a very large expanse of high prairie.  There is a heavy undergrowth of Poplar saplings and a cattle tank  with a concrete overflow basin fed by a nearby undergound spring.  In about 10 years of birding there I have never seen the tank dry.   The isolation of the grove (locally known as Cottonwood Spring or Cottonwood Grove) makes it a classic migrant/vagrant trap.  The grove sits on New Mexico State Land Trust land and the New Mexico Game and Fish Department has negotiated entry for birders (anyone carrying binoculars) and pays the annual fee for access.  

Over the last 10 years the trap has become legend in it's ability to attract and hold migrants and vagrants.  Recent highlights include many of the rarest passerines on the NM list: Black-capped Vireo, Golden-crowned Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Eastern Wood Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Carolina Chickadee (hypo), ,Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Gray-ch. thrush (hypo), Veery, Wood Thrush, Blue-w. Warbler, Golden-w. Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Pine Warbler, Bay-br. Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Canada Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Towhee, and Baltimore Oriole.

Other finds of western birds rare on the estern plains: Whip-poor-will, Lewis's Woodpecker, Flammulated Owl, and Vermilion Flycatcher, Pinion Jay, Bushtit, American Dipper.

Birds rare for the eastern plains locations but reported almost annually at the trap:  Broad-w. Hawk, Calliope Hummingbird, Great-cr. Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-hdd. Vireo, Winter Wren, Golden-cr. KInglet, Chestnut-sdd. Wrbler, Magnolia Warbler, Black-thtd. Blue Warbler, Black-thtd Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Palm Warbler, Hepatic Tanager, Blackpoll Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, and Field Sparrow.  

Residents and migrants reported at least several times a season:   Bobwhite, Upland Sandpiper, Morning Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared Owl, Comon Nighthawk, Black-ch. Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Broad-tld. Hummingbird, Red-hdd. Woodpecker, Yellow-bel. Sapsucker, Red-n. Sapsucker, Ladder-bkd. Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Olive-sdd. Flycatcher, Western Wood Pewee, Least Flycatcher, Hammond's Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Ash-thtd. Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Scissor-tld. Flyatcher, Plumbeous Vireo, Cassin's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Stellar's Jay (eruption years), Western Scrub Jay, Chihauhaun Raven, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Rough-w. Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Mountain Chickadee (eruption years), Red-br. Nuthatch, White-br. Nuthatch (eruption years), Brown Creeper, Rock Wren, Bewick's Wren, House Wren, Ruby-cr. Kinglet, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Moutain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, N.Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Curve-bld. Thrasher (rare), Starlilng, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-cr. Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Virginia's Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-r. Warbler, Black-thtd. Gray Warbler (rare), Townsend's Warbler, Blakc-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush (rare), MacGillivray's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's Warbler, Yellow-br. Chat, Summer Tanager, Western Tanager, Green-tld. Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Cassin's Sparrow, Rufous-cr. Sparrow (rare), Amer. Tree Sparrow (rare), Chipping Sparrow, Clay-col. Sparrow, Brewer's Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Sage Sparrow (rare), Lark Bunting, Savannah Sparrow, Fox (zaboria) Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-thtd. Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Chestnut-col. Longspur, Pyrrhuloxia, Rose-br. Grosbeak, Black-hdd. Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Indigo Bunting, Painted Bunting, Dickcissel, Red-w. Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Western Meadowlark, Yellow-hdd. Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Grackle, Great-tld. Grackle, Brown-hdd. Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, Bullock's Oriole, Scott's Oriole (rare), Cassin's Finch (eruption years), House Finch, Red Crossbill (eruption years), Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, American Goldfinch, Evening Grosbeak (eruption years), and House Sparrow.

During migration, an average daylist would run between 40 and 70 species, in mid-summer (mid June-mid August) one might get only 10-20 species and in winter (late November-late March) the trap proper can be quite devoid of birds.