Both the Sapello and Mora rivers can be observed from the NM-161 bridges. The town hotspot is the entire two-and-a-quarter-mile length of NM-161 east of I-25. Most town lists are from driving a half mile of this route.

Watrous (La Junta) is a National Historic Landmark historic district located in Watrous along the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, which is part of the National Park System. During the 19th century, commerce between the United States and Mexico to the west boomed via the Santa Fe Trail. The Watrous (La Junta) National Historic Landmark at the meeting point of the Mora and Sapello Rivers in the La Junta Valley of New Mexico tells the story of the development of the valley during the Santa Fe Trail period. 

The community of Watrous comprises about eight blocks if you include the two blocks of the Community Park, a separate hotspot.

A pleasant way to bird both hotspots is to park at the coffee house on NM-161, walk south around the old Catholic church to Charles Street, west the two blocks to Second Street, north to the fire station, looping around the western perimeter of the park back to Second Street and the Post Office, east on Briges Street to NM-161, and return south to the coffee house. Both the many windows inside the coffee house and the patio garden offer relaxed birding, but the establishment closes early in the afternoon.