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Sept. - Oct. - Nov 2002
Vol. 31 No. 5

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Hope Is Our Youth With Feathers
Camp Chiricahua Camp
Audubon Take Action
Stop the Poisoning of Red-winged Blackbirds

Sky Islands 2002: Restoring Connections
New and Improved!
New Mexico Audubon Council . . .
West Nile Virus

Potpourri - (or, perhaps, pellet)
Featured Creature: The Burrowing Owl!
Audubon Adventures

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Hope Is Our Youth With Feathers

With the following report, we're happy to reintroduce you to young birder Hannah Porter. We at CNMAS have delighted in Hannah's company and talents for about three years now, in which time she has blossomed as an accomplished artist and birder. In the April-May 2002 issue of Burrowing Owl, we showcased her by announcing the Honorable Mention recognition she received in the ABA/Leica Young Birder of the Year Competition in the 10-to-13-year-old category (Hannah is 12 now, was 11 when she entered the contest) for her entries in the Illustration Module and Field Notebook Module.

Besides the top awards, ABA (American Birding Association) also gave partial scholarships to young birders nationwide and in Canada to attend Camp Chiricahua in Arizona. Each young birder had to raise his/her own funds to match the scholarship amount. When Hannah approached CNMAS to help her fundraise, she came to us with two appealing ideas. One was to offer original artwork to members, who would pay her whatever they wished for the bird of their choice that she painted for them. Thank you to everyone who supported Hannah by commissioning your very own bird art! The other was to petition the Board of CNMAS for educational/scholarship funds to help further her birding education at the camp.

The following report by Hannah is her "payback" to CNMAS for the $100 we/you gave to Hannah. We think you'll agree the return is worth far more than the investment.

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Camp Chiricahua Camp

A Report by Hannah Porter

This summer I attended Camp Chiricahua in SE Arizona through a scholarship I received from the ABA. Though I got the scholarship from the ABA, it was a VENT (Victor Emanuel Nature Tour). The camp was from July 9th to 20th (2002). There were 17 kids attending. It was for teenagers 12-18 years old. And although many of them were older than me, we all treated each other as equals. Of course the birds were very neat but the friends that I met were a big part of how much I enjoyed the camp experience.

The leaders were Rob Day and Dave Jasper, both very experienced birders, and all-around naturalists. They knew where the birds were and how to see them.

July 9- Our first stop in Tucson was Sweetwater Wetlands, a misnomer for in fact it was a sewage pond. But of course, that's where the birds are. We got our first Abert's Towhee, Lucy's Warbler, Anna's Hummingbird, Harris's Hawk and lots of water birds. We also managed to find the Least Grebe at one of the ponds. I finally saw my Peregrine Falcon! We also got other neat birds like Green Heron (some really good looks), good looks at Cactus Wrens, Mexican Mallards, Black-crowned Night-Herons, Loggerhead Shrikes, and Gila Woodpeckers.

July 10- We left from our hotel to head to Portal, but making a few stops along the way. We stopped at the Sonoran Desert Museum, where we picked up many new species that we didn't see anywhere else, such as Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Costa's Hummingbird, Varied Bunting and some others. We also saw lots of Gila Woodpeckers, Cactus Wrens, White-winged Doves, Verdins and then we started to hear Inca Doves. That would be a new species for our trip. But when we tracked them down we found an aviary. Along with the Inca Doves were Yellow Grosbeaks, Northern Bobwhites, Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, Hooded Orioles, and Black-necked Stilts.

We made some other stops on the way to Portal, but they were pretty uneventful. But when we stepped out of the vans in Cave Creek Ranch, we immediately saw and heard many Mexican Jays, saw Magnificent Hummer and Blue-throated Hummer. While we were birding later that day we got lots of Acorn Woodpeckers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Summer Tanager, Scott's, Hooded and Bullock's Orioles, Lark Sparrows, Gambel's Quail, and more Abert's Towhees. We also went night owling and found an adult Elf Owl with two young in a nest hole. That was very cool.

July 11- We split into two groups, one going to South Fork and the other just into the Portal desert. I was in the group to go to the desert; the next day we switched.

While in the desert we saw Blue Grosbeaks, Cactus Wrens, Bell's Vireo, Pyrrhuloxia, Canyon Towhees, Black-throated Sparrows, Violet-green Swallows, Rock Wrens, and some Hooded Orioles. But when we got back and the other group was still out, we got Zone-tailed Hawk, Arizona Woodpecker, Violet-crowned Hummingbird and Bridled Titmouse.

The group that went to South Fork was very successful. They found Elegant Trogons, Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, Mexican Chickadees, Hepatic Tanagers, Painted Redstarts, and many others.

July 12- When my group went to South Fork, we saw about the same things. During the four nights at Cave Creek Ranch we picked up things like Whiskered Screech-Owl, Western Screech-Owl, and hearing a few Common Poorwills.

July 13-14- We headed to Rustler Park, where we would be camping for two nights. The first day there we saw Yellow-eyed Junco, Red Crossbills and Virginia's Warbler. After the first night, we found more birds in the mountains like Flammulated Owl, Red-faced Warbler, Olive Warbler, Montezuma Quail, Grace's Warbler, Mexican Creeper, Pygmy Nuthatch and a possible heard Northern Pygmy-Owl. And on the second day, as one of our best birds of the trip, a Short-tailed Hawk. Neither of the leaders saw it but it was a fairly good look and everyone was positive what it was.

July 15- We headed back down and stopped at the store but didn't see much. We then headed to David Utterback's house, to look for the Lucifer Hummer. We didn't see it, but we did find a Broad-billed and a Calliope Hummingbird.

On our way to San Pedro, we drove along the State Line Road ­ half of the road belonging to New Mexico, and the other half belonging to Arizona. We stopped along the road a couple of times to look around. There we saw Cassin's Sparrows, Botteri's Sparrows, Vermilion Flycatchers, Inca Doves (wild ones), another Peregrine Falcon and a White-tailed Kite. Along the road were some coyotes too.

At our destination, the San Pedro River Inn, we immediately saw Tropical Kingbirds and Lazuli Buntings. We also saw lots of Gila Woodpeckers, Rufous Hummingbirds, Cactus Wrens and Curve-billed Thrashers. During owling we saw Lesser and Common Nighthawks. We also heard Common Poorwills.

July 16- Off to Miller Canyon to look for the reported Flame-colored Tanager, White-eared Hummingbird, and some other possibilities. After heading up the canyon for a while we saw it!!! The Flame-colored Tanager! It was a gorgeous male. Pretty good looks too. We watched it for about 10 minutes until it flew to where we couldn't see it anymore. At the same location were Greater Pewees, Painted Redstarts, Red-faced Warblers and some hummers. As we headed up the canyon, we heard Trogons.

We also found out that there were some Spotted Owls that have been seen in a certain location regularly for a couple of weeks. When we got near the end of the trail we decided to stop and call for the Spotted Owls. So one of the kids from the camp started calling it in. When he stopped, and we were all listening very closely, we heard it. But at first we thought it was an imitation. We heard it again and knew it wasn't. It was very close, so we started searching. We went down the canyon and up the other side. It was almost as steep as a cliff face, but we all managed to survive. The leader, Dave Jasper, was eventually the one that found it. But when we did find "it,", "it" turned into "them." There were two Spotted Owls perched about 25 feet away from us. They were very cooperative and they didn't leave while we were still there. While we all watched them, did field notes of them, and listened to them, we lost track of time. We had to start moving down to the hummer feeders of Beatty's before the monsoon started.

When we got down to the hummingbird feeders of Beatty's, we were seeing Allen's, Broad-billed, Berylificent (hybrid Berylline/Magnificent), Anna's, Broad-tailed, Lucifer, and many others. As we were watching the feeders, we soon encountered the female White-eared Hummingbird. She wasn't nearly as dull as most female hummers are.

The storm started. We bolted for a tarp to stay dry under. We could all barely fit under it. The storm lasted a little less than an hour. The only hummers bold enough to come out in the rain were Magnificent. No other hummers would come out in the monsoon. When it finished, we were way behind schedule, so we had to head to Ramsey Canyon.

At Ramsey Canyon, we found a male White-eared Hummer. We also got very good looks at Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers, lots of Black-throated Gray Warblers, and lots of the common hummers.

When we went to the main feeders to look at hummers, we saw a herd of Wild Turkeys stampeding down the hill. About 20-30 of them. They got to the bottom, very close to us, and then casually walked back up.

We went back up to our Inn. We went owling that night and we found Barn Owls, and again, heard but not seen, Common Poorwills.

July 17- At Ramsey Canyon today, we didn't see anything different. Our other leader, Rob Day, decided to go look at Kartchner Caverns. We spent about 2 hours there. Of course, the day we decided to go into a cave was the day others saw Slate-throated Redstart, Rufous-capped Warbler, and got really good looks at Flame-colored Tanager too.

July 18- We went to the San Pedro River, expecting to see Gray Hawk, and possibly Green Kingfisher. The Green Kingfisher wasn't present and hadn't been seen since February. Noteworthy were some Pied-billed Grebes, Song Sparrows, and a couple of immature Great Horned Owls.

July 19- Our last day of birding. We went to Patagonia and saw Gray Hawk, finally. We also got our first looks at Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, and really good looks at male Varied Buntings. We went to look for the Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, and the Rose-throated Becard, but unsuccessfully.

Our camp was almost over, just a few more stops were made. One was to the San Javier Mission. We saw many Burrowing Owls perched on top of tombstones, and lots of Cactus Wrens. When we got to Tucson, we found the Rufous-winged Sparrow and a Gilded Flicker. Both just at an arid lot in the middle of Tucson.

The camp experience was amazing, and I enjoyed every bit of it. All the people were awesome, the birds were awesome and SE Arizona is an amazing place to go for any type of nature experience.

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Audubon Take Action

DID YOU KNOW that lawmakers determine the fate of birds by the laws they pass? It's true. (See Stop the Poisoning, below, for an example.) Yet each and every year, our laws fall short in protecting birds, other wildlife and our environment. Audubon is working with lawmakers to try and protect birds, wildlife and the environment, but we can't do it alone - we need your help. And your help can make all the difference.

That's why National Audubon has set up a special website to give you an easy and convenient way to help make a difference. This site will provide you with the latest information on conservation issues, and communicates with your lawmakers about these issues through an online form that you fill out.

On the site you'll find a list of the major conservation issues pending before the U.S. Congress, or awaiting action by the President or other government agency. These are issues we need you to weigh in on if we're going to be successful!

Connect to Audubon's Take Action site at: http://www.capitolconnect.com/audubon/

You can stay up to date on activities in Washington through the National Audubon Society's biweekly Advisory. To subscribe, send email to audubonaction@audubon.org for this handy service.

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Stop the Poisoning of Red-winged Blackbirds

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed to kill by poison 2 million blackbirds a year for three years. The program was originally scheduled to start this past spring, but will not due in large part to Audubon's efforts to stop the poisoning. The program was unable to start because the USDA has been required to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to determine the environmental effects of the program. Until the EIS has been completed, the program will be put on hold. But we're still keeping the pressure on.

Go to this webpage for more information: http://www.capitolconnect.com/audubon/contact/default.asp?Subject=41

Please send in the postcard found in this issue.

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Sky Islands 2002: Restoring Connections

October 18-19, 2002 Radisson City Center Hotel, Tucson, AZ

Hosted by: Wildlands Project, Sky Island Alliance, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, and The Wilderness Society Celebrate the unique ecological heritage of the "Sky Islands" region of southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona and northern Mexico with a full day of presentations by the network of conservation groups, public officials and citizens working to restore and connect wildlands in the Sky Islands. For more information, visit www.wildlandsproject.org; or mailto:info@skyislandalliance.org; or call 520-884-0875.

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New and Improved!

The brand-new New Mexico Bird Finding Guides are out! Originally published in 1984 by New Mexico Ornithological Society, the first Revised Edition came out in 1992, at 170 pages. This new edition is much expanded ­ 352 pages long and very complete. It even has an annotated checklist in the back that is terrific. Sells for $20, and is available at Rio Grande Nature Center, NM Museum of Natural History, both Wild Birds Unlimited stores, and Page One, as well as at Bosque del Apache NWR. Get one for yourself and one for your next birding visitor from out of state!

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New Mexico Audubon Council . . .

will meet on Saturday, September 7, at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in the Conference Room of the new Visitors' Center. All Auduboners are invited, whether you're an officer or committee chair or Armchair Activist or casual birder. We will begin at 10:00AM with the intent of being done by 3:00PM. Our agenda will include news, issues, and updates on: Peregrine take for falconry, Silvery Minnow and Lesser Prairie Chicken, State Birding Trail, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Otero Mesa, State Office activities, debut of Statewide Newsletter, NM Audubon Adventures Supplement, Chapter news, and new business. Come get your activist batteries recharged! Call Beth (898-8514) if you want to carpool.

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West Nile Virus

With the imminent arrival of West Nile virus in the Rio Grande valley, a group of us here at the University of New Mexico, along with the NM Department Health and Johns Hopkins University, are putting together a mosquito research program stretching from El Paso, TX, to Alamosa, CO. I was wondering if the Audubon Society members in New Mexico are numerous enough and organized enough to participate in collecting some bird data - we'd be interested in finding any dead bird carcasses and testing them for the virus, and also knowing the locations of concentrations of crows, jays and other corvids (particularly along the bosque corridor), and where these birds might be roosting at night. We'd like to set up mosquito collectors near roosts and in places away from roosts to test for virus infection rates. Any Audubon members who might want to participate in something like this, please contact me.

Robert R. Parmenter
Research Associate Professor
Department of Biology
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131 US
Email: parmentr@sevilleta.unm.edu
Phone: 505-277-7619 (UNM Campus)
FAX: 505-277-5355 (UNM Campus)
Phone: 505-277-9370 (Field Station)
FAX: 505-277-9374 (Field Station)

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Potpourri - (or, perhaps, pellet)

by Betty Corvus Moneduloides

Tweeze this article apart like you would dissect an owl pellet, and you might find some little signature piece that's just right for you. Have you read Red-Tails in Love by Marie Winn? It's a charming book in story-telling style that's chockful of ornithological, naturalist, and historical facts. Its heart and center is Central Park in NYC.

Did you see the Associated Press article that said that a group of panelists gathered in Tucson for an ecological conference have declared enviros aren't the bad guys to blame for the wildfires burning throughout the West? Even more important ­ have Arizona Gov. Jane Hull and U.S. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl seen it? They're the ones who had blamed the Rodeo-Chediski fire's devastation in the Show Low area on environmentalists' legal challenges to timber sales and prescribed burns.

"Not so," said the panel. The fires are due to poor forest management policies, with roots in the 19th century. They even said environmentalists haven't been around long enough to blame. Let's hope they're around long enough to contribute to the solution, since they didn't cause the problem.

If you see a shiny band on leg, neck, or wing, report it! Note color pattern, left/right bandedness, where, when. Write: USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bird Banding Lab, 12100 Beech Forest Rd., Laurel, MD 20708-4037. E-mail: bandreports@patuxent.usgs.gov. Phone (800) 327-BAND (2263).

The issue of Population is one of the main planks of National Audubon's observation deck.

President Bush's administration has not been friendly to women's rights. Under his leadership, this administration has decided to de-fund the United Nations Population Fund and has consistently denied women access to life-saving reproductive health services like birth control, checkups, and HIV education and prevention. If that bothers you, then let the President know that you want him to honor the rights of women and support the life-saving programs sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Another newspaper article (boy, I'm well-read, huh?) stated that I, Betty, astonished researchers when I fashioned a tool from a piece of wire so I could get my food out of a tube. They haven't asked me yet, but if they do, I'll tell them what astonishes me: that your species fashions tools to hurt, not to help.

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Featured Creature: The Burrowing Owl!

That headline will be reaching every child in New Mexico who uses the Audubon Adventures kit, thanks to Lauren Parmelee at Randall Davey Audubon Center (RDAC) in Santa Fe and to Melissa Carter, who used her graphics wizardry to design the text and look of this kid-friendly publication. And it's a beauty! This is just the first in a series of New Mexican supplements being created by our State Office for insertion in the kits used in New Mexico. Upcoming issues will focus on other birds and wildlife of our state.

Other exciting news about this award-winning education program produced by National Audubon Society is that the 2003 kit will contain a segment that focuses on deserts, primarily the Chihuahuan Desert. Lauren Parmlee of RDAC and Walt Whitford, President of Mesilla Valley Audubon Society, have assisted Lorin, Elaine, and Amy of the National Office with the production of that publication. The issue even mentions the Bosque del Apache. Imagine ­ it will reach thousands of children nationwide!

So far this year, four donors have sponsored seven Audubon Adventures kits distributed by CNMAS to schools within our district. Jerry Goffe, Sei Tokuda, Thursday Birders, and Beth Hurst-Waitz, your names are up on the blackboard in recognition and appreciation!

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