D Nichols Photoblog: September 2025: Reverence For Rivers

On September 28, I went to a fascinating and inspiring talk by Cynthia Barnett, called "A Reverence For Rivers: Luna Leopold's Call for a Water Ethic." The term aptly captures my feelings about the Rio Grande, heightened in this past few months by the experience of watching the waters through Albuquerque run dry. It's one thing to know intellectually that the river is at risk, and another to experience the actuality: No more taking our beloved river for granted.

Pueblo Montano Stories: Ebb and Flow, Sorrow and Joy

Earlier in the month, on September 12th, I had gone birding with a friend by the river south of Montano. To my dismay, the waters of the river had dried up again, down to just a few puddles. I family of coyotes was out in the river bed, drinking from the puddles.

The ditch that runs to the west of the river was also dry.. In one algea-laden puddle, the skeletons of fish brought home the reality of the drought's effect on wildlife.

Seeing that hit kind of hard. I found consolation in an experience recounted by another birder who frequently visits this section of the river. He told me that he had seen a Snapping Turtle struggling in the dry ditch. He went down into the ditch and, holding the turtle by the tail at arm's length to avoid its snapping, carried it to the nearby arroyo, where the water was still running. I thought of something Fred Rogers said: "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' " That's what this story did for me.

We had some good rain the next day, and just two days later, I went to the same stretch of river to find it flowing again. Shallow, but flowing. The sad reality is that, without enough snowmelt from the winter, summer rains aren't enough to provide all the water the river needs. Knowing that doesn't erase the happiness and the glimmer of hope the monsoons bring.

Above: Rio Grande South of Montano: September 14

Adjacent: Variegated Fritillary

Below: Yellow-Breasted Chat and Black Phoebe

North Diversion Channel Outflow

The North Diversion Channel Outflow by 4th and Tramway is an important part of Albuquerque's hydrology. When the monsoons come, the waters collect here and surge towards the river for much needed replenishing. It can be rather ugly, as part of its function is to collect the trash running through the Albuquerque ditches before it gets to the river. It is also a hot spot this time of year for migratory shorebirds and other waterbirds. When I visited in mid-September, I was struck by the beauty rather than the ugliness. The place was green, flowering, and filled with life, fed by the water that consistently flows through .

Above: North DIversion Channel Outflow. September 15.

Adjacent: Western Grebe, a rarity passing through.

Below: Male Wood Duck in breeding plumage.

When waters are higher in the channel, the deeper water attracts birds like those pictured above. The shorebirds stick to the shallow water and the sandbars. Sometimes, the channel is running low, becoming a very attractive place for shorebirds. When I visited again on September 29, three Wilson's Snipe were busily foraging amongst the garbage.

Back to The RIver

Throughout the month of September, I checked the river every chance I got. Though the water remained shallow, the river continued to flow. Until September 26, when I visited a stretch of the river near Candelaria. Though a minimal flow remained, much of the riverbed was again cracked and drying mud.

And yet! Three days later, after a weekend of rainstorms, I decided to go to the Tingley Bosque see how the river was faring I arrived at the river's edge to a sight I almost thought t I'd never see again: A Rio Grande running high and fast.

You may well be wondering what all those chunks of matter are floating down the river. At first I thought they were rocks, and was astounded that the water flow could be heavy enough to carry them. When one landed on the shore near me, I touched it and found it soft and foamy. When I picked up some of the foam, it left a residue of dirt on my hand. I learned that this substance is called DOC (Dissolved Organic Carbon), and is a natural substance made of decaying plant material and soil that gets formed in the rain. So, as odd as the stuff looks, I looked upon this abundance of foam as part of the joyful event of a finally abundant river.

The next day, I went down to the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area in Belen, south of Albuquerque. There in the river, we found masses of this Dissolved Organic Compound that had gathered to form what looked like islands. I would love to be closer so I could visit regularly and watch what happen to these foamy islands over time.

But before I lose my audience on this newest nerdy obsession, here are some pretty pictures of the flora and fauna that brought beauty to this past month of river reverence.