A welcome highlight of the spring thus far has been the unusually early release of water from Elephant Butte reservoir into the Rio Grande, at least two months ahead of recent years. As part of the elaborate agreement between New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico, water for southern New Mexico irrigators likely won’t be available anytime soon, but the water flow in the river is already benefiting migratory birds, other wildlife, and the many native plants along the river corridor in myriad ways.
As a typically glass-half-full optimist, I’ve been challenged this spring not to despair too prematurely about the seeming lateness of hummingbirds arriving and their disturbingly small numbers, but in the Rio’s early rebirth and revitalization of all it touches I’ve (mostly) been able to find an uplifting and ongoing counterweight. Seeing good numbers of migrating waterfowl and swallows, after a dearth of such sightings over the past decade or more of the river going dry over the winter and staying that way until late May or June, is a splendid balm for the soul!