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Sunday storm over the refuge
Summer rainfall in the distance moving in over the refuge makes for a cool overcast and good time to enjoy the outdoors.
Seasons of Wildlife
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North American porcupine
The porcupine is a rodent. The North American porcupine is the largest of all porcupines. A single animal may have 30,000 or more quills.
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Photo Galleries
Enjoy images of Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge's wildlife that call it home all or part of the year.
Newest Photo Gallery
Enjoy Your Area Wildlife Refuge!
Our auto tour route has improved! Winding through the refuge, the 10 mile loop has several pullouts for visitors to hike, observe, and learn about refuge wildlife. Take in the beautiful vistas from Lake 13, listen to the songbirds fleeting through the cottonwoods as you hike one of our newest trails, feel the wind while walking the new Prairie Path or sit and watch the black-tailed prairie dogs foraging in the shadow of the highest peak in New Mexico, Wheeler’s Peak. Maps are available at the visitor center.
For more information, Contact Us.
Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird website program is a real-time, online checklist program that has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. A birder simply enters when, where, and how they went birding, then fills out a checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing. The observations of each participant join those of others in an international network of eBird users. The link below allows you to set-up an account in eBird to submit your observations. The Refuge appreciates you entering your bird sightings on the eBird online checklist program. For more information about eBird go to: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/.
Current entries at Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge, can be seen on our Wildlife & Habitat page, in the header banner up above, and then open the left menu link titled: Report a Bird Sighting.
eBird On-line Program to Submit Observations
Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Central Flyway, a route traveled annually by numerous species of waterfowl and other migratory birds. Many of the most common birds on the refuge are considered grassland-dependent species. Grassland birds, many of which are experiencing population declines throughout their ranges, rely upon the short-grass prairie habitat of the refuge for their survival. Maxwell supports some of the highest densities of the grasshopper sparrow in the state of New Mexico.
Photo Gallery of Migratory Birds
Visiting Maxwell Wildlife Refuge
Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge's Visitor Center is open when staff are available: 7:30 AM to 4 PM Monday through Thursday, and 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM on Friday. Closed Saturday and Sunday. Due to a smaller staff, our refuge office and Visitor Center may be closed during some of these hours, when employees are in the field. You may call (575) 375-2331, Ext. 200, before coming to the refuge, to assure that a staff member is available. We appreciate your patience and understanding when visiting.
Contact Us
The Support of Our Friends
The Northern New Mexico National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes Maxwell, Las Vegas, and Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuges is fortunate to have an invaluable, shared Friends Organization. Please see our Friends Organization link below. More details on the work this Friends Organization does for our wildlife refuges is on our Partnerships website page also.
Friends Organization Direct Website
About the NWRS
The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants.
Learn more about the NWRS
Page Photo Credits – Refuge landscape view from Lake 12 / L. Wilkins, USFWS, Shoreline of Lake 13 / L. Wilkins, USFWS, Storm over the refuge / © Bennette Jenkins, Porcupine / © Bennette Jenkins, Educational presentation / L. Wilkins, USFWS, Friends of Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge Complex logo ©, Rainbow after a rainstorm / © Bennette Jenkins, Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center / L. Wilkins, USFWS, Ferruginous hawk / L. Wilkins, USFWS, Grasshopper sparrow / © Robert Shantz, All photos courtesy of USFWS unless otherwise noted.
Last Updated: Mar 13, 2019