If you end up going from Bosque del Apache south toward SE Arizona (both of which are great!), stop at a cute little campground called Percha Dam State Park off I25. It makes a nice stretch-your-legs stop and has many nice birds like vermilion flycatcher, pyrrhuloxia and phainopepla. You might see Harris', Swainson's and ferruginous hawks in southern NM. If you decide on south Texas, I had an amazing day at Sabal Palm Sanctuary years ago, though I read somewhere that it may have had degradations since then?
Elaine T., Seattle