Wildlife Near Abiquiu Lake: What You'll See at The Grand Hacienda

Long gone are the days when Coelophysis dinosaurs and woolly mammoths roamed this land, though we like to think a little of that wildness stuck around. One of the questions we get asked most often here at The Grand Hacienda is, "What's the wildlife near Abiquiu like?"

Funny enough, I had just been talking about this over dinner last night with a lovely couple visiting from Puerto Rico. They'd had a rather exciting near encounter with a black bear in Taos, which naturally turned the conversation to what else might be sharing the landscape with them.

Some guests ask because they are hoping to spot something they've never seen before. Others are asking because they would very much like to know what they should avoid bumping into on an evening stroll!

The good news is that our little corner of northern New Mexico is full of wildlife, but most of it is far more interested in you leaving it alone than the other way around.

Your wildlife tour actually starts before you even arrive.

On The Drive In

As you wind your way down the gravel roads toward The Grand Hacienda, you are almost guaranteed to meet our local prairie dogs. Some stand upright like tiny sentries, squeaking furiously to let everyone know you are coming. Others apparently missed the neighborhood meeting entirely and just sit in the middle of the road with their backs to your car, forcing you to honk at them.

Prairie dogs live in enormous underground communities, adorably and aptly called dog towns, complete with nurseries, sleeping chambers, and an impressive network of tunnels that can stretch for miles. During the winter, they spend much more time underground, so spotting them becomes a bit more challenging.

Once you make it to the Hacienda, things only get more interesting.

Wildlife Near Abiquiu: Around the Hacienda

During the warmer months, our hummingbird feeders become absolute chaos in the best possible way. We see several species throughout the season, but one of the most recognizable is the Rufous Hummingbird, with its beautiful copper colored feathers that practically glow in the sunshine. They are also tiny little bullies. Despite weighing less than a penny, Rufous Hummingbirds are famously aggressive and will chase away birds several times their size. Watching them zip around the patio from your private portal is better than television.

As the sun goes down, you are likely to hear the coyotes. It's one of my favorite sounds out here. Listening to coyotes singing across the mesas at night is a reminder of just how remote you are and how vast the desert really is. If you've never heard them before, it sounds like there must be hundreds of them. In reality, it is usually just a small family group, but the echoes bouncing off the canyons make them sound hauntingly beautiful. You might even catch sight of one, or an entire little crew, casually wandering through a nearby arroyo.

Closer to Abiquiu Lake, we occasionally see elk, while mule deer seem to wander just about everywhere. Lately we've also had a bumper crop of rabbits. These rabbits were absolutely adorable. They were also apparently under the impression that I planted an all-you-can-eat buffet specifically for them. Every single one of my vegetable starts disappeared. I suppose if something is going to destroy your garden, it helps if it's ridiculously cute.

Every now and then we'll spot something a little more unusual. I've seen a handful of American badgers over the years. They are stout, surprisingly powerful little animals that spend much of their lives digging. They are fascinating to watch from a distance and far tougher than they look.

Today brought one of my favorite wildlife encounters yet! I walked outside and found a mother bobcat and her kitten perched right on top of the driveway wall, watching the sunset like they owned it. It's not even the first time. Last winter, a bobcat wandered straight across our patio, rubbed its face against the outdoor furniture, sniffed around looking thoroughly unimpressed, and wandered off again, behaving for all the world like an oversized house cat. Bobcats are famously shy, so encounters like these, let alone two, are a real treat.

Then there are the creatures that usually make people pause. Yes, we have snakes. Yes, we have scorpions. Yes, we have bats, spiders, toads, and all sorts of desert critters.

Personally, though, I have a soft spot for the horned lizard. They look like tiny prehistoric dragons and remind me of little bearded dragons. They are incredibly gentle and perfectly content to sit still while you admire them. They also have one of the strangest defense mechanisms in the animal kingdom. If threatened by certain predators, they can actually squirt a tiny stream of blood from the corners of their eyes. Nature is weird, and I love it.

Birds You'll See Near Abiquiu

And then there are the birds. So. Many. Birds.

We have a resident pair of ravens that have more or less decided they own the place. We've named them Stanley and Ophelia, and they've become honorary members of The Grand Hacienda family. Every day, throughout the day, they perch on the roof, supervise our activities, and loudly announce their opinions to anyone, willing or unwilling, to listen.

Beyond our resident ravens, we regularly see hawks, Great Horned Owls, Northern Flickers, American Kestrels, hummingbirds by the dozens, and every once in a while, a Greater Roadrunner comes tearing across the property looking exactly like you'd hope a roadrunner would. One of the highlights each winter is spotting Bald Eagles around Abiquiu Lake. In fact, the lake hosts an annual eagle-watching event because so many eagles winter here.

Bears and Mountain Lions Near Abiquiu

People often ask about bears and mountain lions as well.

The answer is yes, they absolutely live in northern New Mexico, but they are much more commonly found higher up in the mountains and forested canyons than they are here around the Hacienda. There have certainly been sightings farther up the canyons, but they are very uncommon near the property itself.

Wildlife Love The Abiquiu Location

One of the best things about being in a quiet, remote, and peaceful location like this is that your chances of spotting something fascinating increase tenfold. We live with nature, and we do our best to live alongside it as peacefully as possible...except, of course, for the rabbits, who seem determined to eat all of our food!

So next time someone asks what wildlife they might see out here, the honest answer is: almost anything, and probably before you've even finished unpacking. That's the real draw of staying at The Grand Hacienda. You're not visiting a place that talks about nature; you're settling into a spot where the ravens already have names, the hummingbirds treat the patio like their own personal battleground, and a bobcat might just wander through while you're having your morning coffee.

Book a stay, pour a glass of wine on your private portal as the coyotes start up for the evening, and let the desert do what it does best. Just keep an eye on your garden. The rabbits have plans for it.