 Wildlife Rescue (505) 344-2500 Rare Bird Alert (505) 323-9323 Bat in Trouble? Call before you intervene. (505) 281-1133 or (505) 281-1515 Directory CNMAS Phone Number: PRESIDENT Beth Hurst-Waitz 804 Guadalupe Circle NW 87114-1710 home 898-8514 work 243-7029 fax 242-7343 VICE PRESIDENT and OUTREACH PROGRAMS Donna Thatcher 1128 Girard Blvd. NE 87106 phone 255-1546 SECRETARY Dianne Cress 256 Zena Lona NE 87123 work 841-2586 home 298-0085 CONSERVATION CHAIRPERSON Jeffrey Myers 2208 Rozinante Ct. NW 87104 work 998-1502 home 843-8114 MEMBERSHIP CHAIRPERSON (for change of address only) Ed Dover 1421 San Carlos SW 87104-1040 phone 242-5427 PROGRAM CHAIRPERSON/PUBLICITY Patrice Franklin 726-33 Tramway Vista Drive NE 87122 phone 856-7443 TREASURER Ronald Waitz 804 Guadalupe Circle NW 87114 phone 898-8514 AUDUBON ADVENTURES CHAIRPERSON Cindy Clark 2147 Black Willow Dr. NE 87122 home 822-1467 work 332-4737 INFORMATION for the FEDERAL JUNIOR DUCK STAMP CONTEST Joanne Roll Bosque del Apache NWR (505) 835-1828 FIELD TRIP CHAIRPEOPLE Charlotte Green 808 Freeman Avenue NW 87107 Sei Tokuda 3008 Marble Avenue NE 87106 phone 266-2480 NEW MEXICO COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE/PARTNERS IN FLIGHT REP Jonalyn Yancey 860 State Road 344, Edgewood, NM 87015 work 884-6807 home 286-2949 EDITOR, BURROWING OWL Browning Coke 609 Graceland Drive SE 87108 phone 256-9130 email bcokenm@aol.com New Mexico Office David Henderson, Randall Davey Audubon Center P.O. Box 9314 Santa Fe, NM 87504 (505) 983-4609 Bosque del Apache NWR (505) 835-1828 US Fish and Wildlife Service 500 Gold Avenue, SW Albuquerque, NM 87102 Regional Director (505) 766-2321 Refuges and Wildlife (505) 766-2036 Habitat Conservation (505) 766-2914 Sandia Ranger District US Forest Service Clifford Dils, District Ranger11776 Highway 337 Tijeras, NM 87059 (505) 281-3304 New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Villagra Building P.O. Box 25112 Santa Fe, NM 87503-0001 (505) 827-6681         The Burrowing Owl Newsletter is published six times a year. Subscription is free to Central New Mexico Audubon Society members, $12 to nonmembers. CNMAS, P.O. Box 30002, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87190-0002  
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When Phil Norton came to Bosque del Apache in 1986, he was faced with water management problems, salt cedar problems, hunting on the refuge, a lack of community involvement, budget problems, too much work and too few people. In just 13 (going on14) years, he has intensified and maximized water-use efficiency to the ever-increasing benefit of waterfowl and flora at the refuge. He has pioneered and innovated moist soil management practices and salt cedar eradication methods. His experimentation with periodic timed flooding has promoted cottonwood regeneration and been a model for agencies statewide. Twelve years ago he hosted the First Annual Festival of the Cranes &endash;his brain child. He fought to remove hunting from the refuge&endash; and succeeded. He envisioned volunteer involvement &endash; and the Friends of Bosque del Apache came into being. Phil graciously donned the mantle of ambassador. Nationwide, Bosque del Apache came into the public awareness. Charles Kuralt featured the Bosque regularly on his beloved "Sunday Morning" nature vignettes. He praised Phil in his book, "America." In 1996, Phil opened the Bosque to National Audubon Society's most successful interactive educational program ever&emdash;"Wild Wings: Heading South." For three days, film crews were live on site at Bosque del Apache and at Welney Wildfowl Reserve in Great Britain &emdash;and schoolchildren across the globe tracked the migrations of sandhills and snow geese arriving in New Mexico, and Bewick's and whooper swans arriving in England. Phil supported Kent Clegg's attempts at establishing a Rocky Mountain Whooping Crane flyway &endash; a program which captured the imagination of a supportive public. Phil still hopes that Kent's program will continue. Fall is a season of change. Some people see it as an ending. We have the choice to think of it otherwise: the beginning of our incomparable season of blue and gold; the freshness of new arrivals, migrating by the thousands; the sunset of the bravado of summer into the nurturing of winter, out of which all Nature stirs anew. Phil is leaving the Refuge on December 15, to accept his new position as manager of Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge on January 2. He feels it's time for a change. He admits, "I didn't think that I would ever leave here." He goes there, faced with water management problems, disputes over land-use practices between farmers and the refuge, a native land reclamation claim by the Klamath Indian Tribes, a lack of community involvement, budget problems, too much work and too few people &emdash;not "problems" to Phil, but challenges. In honor and recognition of Phil's years of dedication and inspiration at Bosque del Apache, Central New Mexico Audubon Society has presented Phil with a Resolution to fund the building of the Phil Norton Commemorative Photography Blind. The plans and specs have aleady been developed by Refuge personnel. The blind will be built on the Refuge side of the Ducks Unlimited pond, which is inaccessible but visible on the east side of the road into Bosque del Apache from San Antonio. The new blind will be accessible from the Refuge and will provide outstanding wildlife viewing opportunities. The check will be presented to Phil on December 4 at Bosque del Apache. We encourage your gifts and donations to the "Phil Fund." What an Audubon legacy! Send donations to CNMAS, P.O. Box 30002, Albuquerque, NM 87190-0002. To you, Phil, we say: Vaya con Dios. Fare well &emdash; but not "farewell." Audubon Field Trips Everyone is welcome on field trips: Audubon members and nonmembers, novice and experienced birders.Call Sei for more information 266-2480. Saturday, December 4 Bosque del Apache: This is a great time to see the winter birds. Meet at 8 AM at the UNM Physics building parking lot (NE corner of Lomas and Yale). Dress warmly and bring lunch. This will be a full day trip. Call Sei at 266-2480 for details. Sunday, January 9 Kit Carson Park and Elsewhere Meet at 8 AM at the parking lot on the south side of Kit Carson Park (Alcalde and Tingley - Lead and Coal merge to form Alcalde just a couple blocks from Tingley Drive). This will be a half day trip. Saturday - Sunday, January 29-30 Las Vegas and Maxwell NWRs Meet at 7:30 AM at the Far North Shopping Center (Academy and San Mateo Blvds.) behind the Village Inn. Bring lunch and lots of warm clothing; it can get pretty cold.This can be a day trip or overnight at Springer. This a great trip to see Rough-legged Hawks, lots of Bald Eagles, Tree Sparrows and waterfowl. Call Sei for lodging and possible car pooling information.
Programs begin at 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments are served from 7:15. Come to St.Timothy's Lutheran Church, northwest corner of Copper and Jefferson. Audubon Birding Academy Mark your calendars and register early. The cost is $5.00 per class payable in advance or at the door.Pre-register for all three classes and the price is only $12.00 (saves 20%). Call Beth Hurst at 898-8514 to register now or for info. Beginning January 3, you can pick-up a form at bird stores and in the RGNC pond room.
Saturday, September 25 Quarai and HawkWatch Site. Ten birders made this trip. The day was somewhat uneventful with very few birds found. The most exciting sighting was the flight of several hundred Pinyon Jays flying directly overhead and the presence of Broad-winged Hawks at the HawkWatch site. Saturday, October 9 Percha Dam. Seven people made this trip on a fairly nice day. There were over 45 species noted and the most exciting sights were a Golden Eagle sitting on a post just north of the Mitchell Point turn off on I-25 and a flock of White-throated Swifts that were flying overhead at Percha Dam State Park. Saturday, October 30 Bosque del Apache NWR. This was a beautiful day to go birding. The weather was perfect for late October and everyone had good looks at a Harlan's Hawk and the Ross's Geese. Other species included Yellow-Headed Blackbirds, Pipits, Glossy Ibises. Saturday, November 6 Las Vegas NWR. A beautiful Indian Summer day enjoyed by 6 birders led by Art Arenholz. There were outstanding views of Bald Eagles and Prairie Falcons plus the joy of seeing 4 species of Grebes in one pond. In addition, there were a few "stained" Sandhill Cranes.
"Thank you" to Tom Fowler for his gift to CNMAS in memory of Lew Helm. Feathers to Mary Lou Arthur, who agreed so readily to help handle Audubon phone calls &emdash; one of Donna Thatcher's many roles left vacant since she's moved to Farmington. Bird calls and whistles to Hart Schwarz and Steve Cox for undertaking the Audubon Christmas Bird Counts locally. Your efforts do not go unappreciated! "Gracias" to Hart Schwarz, Christopher Rustay, and Jennifer Atchley for your invaluable help in compiling the statewide Christmas Bird Count information. Flowers and a Life Bird to Andrew Rominger and Jay Reidy for their time and talents in making the new Waterfowl Identification Poster Series for us &endash; and for doing it so graciously and artistically! There is no such thing as an "organization"&endash; there are only the people who form together to further a common goal. We invite you to consider sharing yourself with us in whatever way your time and talents incline you. Planning general meetings, taking on the annual Science Fair project, doing nature slide presentations for youth/community groups are only some needs and ideas. Bring your own need to share, and your own ideas, and join the Audubon family. It takes all of us to make a flock! Happy holidays, fellow Auduboners!
The 100th Christmas Bird Count period begins Thursday, December 16th, 1999 and ends on Monday, January 3rd, 2000 The Christmas Bird Count has become the world's largest all-volunteer bird survey. More than 45,000 people participate each year in this all-day census of early-winter bird populations. The results of their efforts are compiled into the longest running database in ornithology, representing close to one hundred years of unbroken data on trends of early-winter bird populations across the Americas. Saturday, December 18 - Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro Contact Steve Cox, 345-2385. Meet at Refuge Headquarters, 7:00 a.m. Owl Bar afterwards for treats and tallies. Sunday, December 19 Albuquerque Contact Hart Schwarz, 266-1810. Meet at Corrales Shopping Center, NW corner of Coors and Alameda, 7:15 a.m. Compilation party afterwards at the home of Jonalyn Yancey, 248-0260&emdash; bring a dish to share. All sub-compilers are encouraged to attend, even if your list is the only thing you bring! Sunday, January 2, 2000 Sandia Mountains Contact Hart Schwarz, 266-1810. Meet at Wells Fargo Bank (formerly Norwest Bank) in Tijeras at 7:30 a.m.
Yet coffee farming in Latin America is changing. Traditionally, coffee was grown under a canopy of shade trees, providing wintering habitat critical to many species of migratory birds and preserving the rich biodiversity inherent in tropical rainforests. Increasingly, however, industrial coffee farms, where land is cleared of its lush vegetation to grow coffee in full sun, are replacing traditional coffee farms. With this conversion from traditional shade-grown to industrial sun-grown coffee comes a corresponding decrease in migratory bird species, and this decrease in species diversity is dramatic -- over 90% fewer bird species are found on sun-grown coffee farms than on shade-grown coffee farms. By choosing shade-grown coffee, coffee drinkers not only help common birds that use shade-coffee plantations during the winter like the Baltimore Oriole and Ruby-throated Hummingbird, but also a host of at risk WatchList species including: To learn more about why shade coffee plantations are great for birds, and to see the certification criteria developed by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, check out http://www.si.edu/smbc/. As contemplated by the New Mexico Audubon Council at its meeting on Oct. 2, 1999, the Council joined with five other conservationist groups in a legal effort to save the rapidly dwindling population of the endangered Rio Grande Silvery Minnow as well as the also endangered Southwestern (extimus) Willow Flycatcher. The six groups have sued the U.S.Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers to force the two federal agencies to obtain biological studies of the minnow and the flycatcher in the expectation that the studies will require that more water be left in the Rio Grande and not be diverted by dams and irrigation channels. The following is the plaintiff's press release. Albuquerque, New Mexico &endash; Six national, regional and local conservation groups filed suit today to stop the decline of the Rio Grande ecosystem in central New Mexico. Defenders of Wildlife, Forest Guardians, National Audubon Society, New Mexico Audubon Council, Sierra Club, and Southwest Environmental Center filed the lawsuit in federal district court, claiming federal water managers have failed to recover the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow and southwestern willow flycatcher, in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Recent biological surveys show that the minnow population has declined severely, necessitating a swift and immediate response. Biologists conducted surveys in July and August showing that over 90% of the remaining population is concentrated in a small stretch of river just above Elephant Butte Reservoir that is the most likely stretch to go dry. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) says that the situation is "serious." "The situation is worse than serious; it has become an emergency. The status quo is killing off the minnows and is also endangering the health of the bosque and the entire riparian system," said Tom Jervis, President of the New Mexico Audubon Council. "The decline of the silvery minnow is merely a symptom that the river itself is dying. We need immediate action to protect not only the minnow and the flycatcher, but the multitude of life the river supports, including humans" said Susan George, State Counsel for Defenders of Wildlife. The Biological Assessment of middle Rio Grande water management issued recently by the Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers asserts that those agencies have almost no discretion to change the way the river is operated so as to prevent the death of the river and the species dependent on it. This lawsuit disputes that claim and argues that federal agencies should be consulting with Fish and Wildlife Service over a wide range of actions that might be taken to improve the health of the river, the silvery minnow, and the southwestern willow flycatcher. Numerous other lawsuits have been filed in recent weeks by the State of New Mexico, City of Albuquerque, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, and the Farm Bureau challenging protection of habitat for the minnow as well as sources of water to keep the river wet. "This issue has already been taken to the courts by the other stakeholders. We must give the river and its species a voice in the process," said Letty Belin, with the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies. The Rio Grande silvery minnow, once one of the most abundant fish species in the Rio Grande, is the last of its kind in the river. Listed as an endangered species in 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held a meeting in 1992 to warn water users of the impending listing and to look for alternative solutions. "Had water managers and users heeded warnings from nearly a decade ago that the river was in trouble, the emergency room measures of the ESA would not have been necessary. No one could give us any assurance that adequate water would remain in the river, so here we are today in a crisis," said John Horning of Forest Guardians.
As an aid to readers of The Burrowing Owl, we have gleaned the following items from newsletters of other Audubon chapters around the nation. Actually, we gleaned only one and made up the rest. Use your finely honed birding skills to make the correct ID. The Slippery Eel (Washington, D.C. Chapter): An anonymous benefactor has made a multi-million dollar contribution to support Audubon's "Cat Indoor" Program. The money will be used to purchase a fuzzy mechanical mouse for each cat-owner willing to participate in the Program. The House Sparrow (N.Y.C. Chapter): An effort is underway to stop the Parks Department's proposal to convert the northern end of Central Park into a multi-modal transportation facility for the City's taxis, busses, helicopters and overnight delivery vans. A study commissioned by The Friends of the Red-Tailed Hawks Who Nest Near Woody Allen's Building has shown that this plan would have a detrimental effect on most of the Park's wildlife (other than pigeons). The Old Coot (Baton Rouge Chapter): The popularity of the Chapter's Fetch and Release Program (training classes for hunting dogs) has led to a sharp increase in membership, especially from rural areas, although its effect on the local Gadwalls remains to be seen. The Wood Tick (Southern Colorado Chapter): In an attempt to curtail the loss of habitat caused by the population growth in the Chapter's region, the Chapter has created a task force to introduce legislation that would require each Colorado County to incarcerate at least 5% of its population annually for the next five years. The Sandpiper (East Islip Chapter): Three birders waded and swam across a 300 foot wide tidal inlet to get a close-up look at a Mongolian Plover, a life bird for each of them.
The October NMAC meeting was held at the Sevilleta NWR. Christopher Rustay reported on the Important Bird Area Program now underway in New Mexico. Chris will be giving a presentation to each chapter encouraging local birders to submit site nominations. Each Chapter is encouraged to have an IBA Liaison to coordinate nominations in its area. Chris can be reached at the Randall Davey Audubon Center at (505) 983-4609. The next meeting will be at the Sevilleta NWR at 10:00 am on Saturday, February 5, 2000. All Auduboners are encouraged to attend.
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