Have you ever seen a Gambel’s quail run? They really haul ass.
We watched two dart, synchronized, across a dirt road off an acequia in Corrales. They looked like smaller, less gangly roadrunners. With headwear.
We knew with the week’s latest round of prolific rain, the acequias would be flowing. And they were – at times the water rose nearly to the top of the ditches.
We saw a wilderness’ worth of wildlife, though we were frequently within sight of at least one of the village’s main roads.
We picked up the acequia behind the village recreation center, soon passing a Portland brewery’s New Mexico outpost, under construction.
Butterflies appeared as soon as the shouts of children at the skate park began to fade. Small white butterflies danced along the ditches, and an occasional yellow or black one fluttered by.
A Cooper’s hawk swooped to the water’s edge. It sat still and quiet, taking sips and sniffing the air for several minutes, then launching itself up to a green branch.
Quail called to each other and flew between fenceposts before taking off at a run. All About Birds describes their flight accurately as “explosive, powerful and short.”
More hawks. Ducks coasting in the high water.
Adobe bed-and-breakfasts cohabitated with simple homes stacked with wood and old machinery.
As we walked north, we came to a deep green apple orchard on the east of the ditch, a sunbleached field of cacti and yucca on the west.
Goats and horses peered from barns and yards at us.
We pulled into Corrales Bistro Brewery for a bite after the hike. The only spot left in the parking lot was next to two horses. As we left the brewery, we saw the horses transporting their owners south on another acequia. Equine designated drivers.
Folks in Corrales know how to live, and the village has life in abundance this spring.
Hike length: 4.4 miles
Difficulty: easiest
Wildlife spotted: Gambel’s quail, Cooper’s hawks, unidentified hawk, sparrows, swallows, butterflies, grasshoppers, kingbirds
Trail traffic: moderate
Woman Seeks Elevation 
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