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September/October/November 2003
Vol. 32 No. 4
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Table Of Contents (Please let the whole page load before clicking on the links.)

Birdathon 2003 - What A Terrific Team Effort!
Bosque del Apache NWR: The Ecstasy and the Agony
Citizen Science At Work Through Auduboners
HawkWatch Observations
Fourth Graders Contribute to Bird Conservation

What the Heck Is An E-Bird?
Coastal Maine Bird Studies Program
Audubon in the Classroom
Birding For Fun = Birding For Science
Still In Awe - A Summer Email

Veracruz River of Raptors
Burrowing Owl Subscription Tidbits
A Note About Your Burrowing Owl Subscription
Join Audubon

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Birdathon 2003 - What A Terrific Team Effort!

You did it!!! You gave us our best Birdathon year ever - both in terms of dollars AND in team spirit! You contributed a total of $2,031.80 to this year’s teams - and what great teams they were! If you need to be refreshed on their (and your) fun days out, go back and read the team reports in your Summer issue of the Audubon New Mexico Statewide Newsletter. Thanks once again to the teams: Youth Without-A-Driver’s-License, Thursday Birders Plus, and Celestyn’s Successful Successors. Thanks to all you generous feathered friends below:

Sally Burke, Mike Ramos, Les Hawkins, John Estrel, Paul McConnell, Elizabeth Hurst-Waitz, Sei Tokuda, Julie Goodding, Marjorie Williams, Jeanne Hamrick, Carolyn Sanborn, MaryLou Arthur, Eileen Beaulieu, Pat Folsom, Ruth Burstrom, Jeff Myers, Vickie Wilcox, Niels Chapman, Marian Washburn, Virginia Taylor, Celestyn Brozek, Melvin Shibuya, Mirella Burke, Ernie Harris, Anne Fiberlin, Diane Cress, Bobby Posey, Sherry Hunt, Judy Rominger, Keener Marsha, Deborah Peacock, Sylvia Chattin, Karen and Gary Boettcher, Bonnie Long, Cheri Orwig, Jack W Courtin, Thursday Birders Treasury, Melissa Howard, Nancy Kirkwood, Rebecca Gracey, Laura Lefkofsky, Eric Robinson, Wally & Lena Finley, Lou Prime, Amy Neel, Glen Finley, Sharon Fullingim, William Gilstrap, Art Arenholz, Marcia DeLeon

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Bosque del Apache NWR:
The Ecstasy and the Agony

Folks who read the June Audubon Magazine were thrilled to see national recognition given to what New Mexicans have known all along: That Bosque del Apache NWR, less than 100 miles south of Albuquerque, is one of the 10 crown jewels of the national wildlife refuge system. Featured for its beauty, its incredible array of birds, its recreational opportunities, and its accessibility, Bosque del Apache NWR comprises 57,191 acres on a riparian floodplain of the Rio Grande in the Chihuahuan Desert - talk about diversity!

And diversity is what’s threatened, according to a new report released by Audubon, “Cooling the Hot Spots,” which recommends immediate investments to protect ten critical areas from invasive species. Thus it is that Bosque del Apache NWR has made it to the top ten in yet another list: it is one of those ten critical areas recommended to receive immediate investments to protect it from what has been blamed for bird extinctions and declining bird populations worldwide - invasive species.

“Invasive species are like a buzz-saw cutting through some of America’s most valuable bird and wildlife habitat,” said Bob Perciasepe, Audubon’s Senior Vice President for Public Policy. “If invasive species are not controlled, they will continue to wreak havoc on America’s already declining birds and the natural places they inhabit. We need to target federal efforts in the most critical areas, that is why we identified these ten invasive species Hot Spots: it is a science-based road map toward meaningful protection of America’s birds, wildlife, and habitat, on the ground where it counts.”

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Citizen Science At Work Through Auduboners

Nine Open Space sites in the East Mountains are being surveyed by the CNMAS Thursday Birders led by Andrew Rominger.

The bird counts are part of the environmental/interpretive assessments of East Mountain Open Space (EMOS) conducted by Talking Talons and the Youth Conservation Corps. The data gathered from the Thursday Birders surveys will be presented in mid-September to the EMOS steering committee, representing Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, Forest Service, National Parks and local residents, which will make decisions about site management, including public access, for the nine parcels of open space. Data from these counts will also be used to assess the sites for Important Bird Area designation based on species diversity and individual densities thus adding to the potential for conservation management and protection of bird species.

Open space–undeveloped land set aside for conservation and/or passive recreation–is managed to retain its natural character, conserve resources, provide opportunities for education and recreation and in some cases define the boundaries of the “built environment”, according to the EMOS steering committee. Bernalillo County voters approved a property tax mill levy in 1998 whose proceeds were used to purchase 1,500 acres in the East Mountains, North Valley and South Valley. A second levy approved in 2000 is providing funds for management of the sites.

The East Mountain Open Space includes three sites near Cedro Peak on State Road 337: Sabino Canyon, Loma Ponderosa and Juan Tomas. Other sites are San Antonito and Ojito de San Antonio (formerly Los Manzanares), both on Highway 14; Tres Pistolas (Three Gun) and Carlito Springs, both in Tijeras Canyon; Gutierrez Canyon north of Interstate 40, and a site south of Golden.

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HawkWatch Observations

http://www.hawkwatch.org/

Observers will begin the Manzano HawkWatch count on August 27 and remain until November 5. Banding set-up will take place on August 30 and 31. Visitors are welcome. Call Bobbie at 255-7622 for more information.

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Fourth Graders Contribute to Bird Conservation

by Andrew Rominger

Birds: inspiring, empowering and an excellent way to communicate the necessity for environmental protection. This became clear for me during the last spring semester, when I had the incredible opportunity to design an environmental education project - “New Mexico/Mexico Connection: A Study of Twelve Migratory Birds”- as part of an Independent Study at Valley High School. Even more incredible was working with Stephanie Kasprzak’s fourth grade students at Lew Wallace Elementary to make “New Mexico/Mexico Connections” a reality.

The purpose of the project was to provide a learning experience for students through which they could educate themselves, their peers and their community about migratory birds who utilize habitats in New Mexico for breeding and then fly south to Mexico for the winter. The project was designed to encourage the celebration and conservation of these birds and their habitats and to instill an appreciation of the complex ecological networks that support bird life around the world. These intentions combined to form the larger purpose of the project-that of empowering these young people to have a positive impact on their local environment and the environment at large, through stewardship, education and community service.

For two weeks in April, the students worked amazingly hard researching their birds, discovering the habitat requirements and the conservation issues of each species. They created maps indicting the ranges of each bird in New Mexico and in Mexico and facts sheets with information from their research. These, along with their exquisite paintings showing the birds they researched pictured in their breeding and wintering habitats, went on display at the Rio Grande Nature Center beginning on International Migratory Bird Day, May 10 and will continue through the fall. It was rewarding to see how enthused the students became as their knowledge of birds increased and how proudly they shared their information and artwork with others knowing that they were contributing to the protection of the birds they had come to understand so well.

I would very much like to thank the incredible students and their teacher for what they have contributed to our community. And thank you Central New Mexico Audubon for the grant you provided for purchasing art materials. I greatly appreciate your support and hope that this project is helping further the Audubon cause.

I’ll be continuing this project in the coming spring with Mrs. Kasprzak’s new class of fourth graders. Environmental education has claimed me, as I see clearer than ever its necessity in our struggle to insure that ecosystems remain healthy for generations to come. It is one thing to be told that we must work to preserve the Earth–it is another thing to understand why we must do this; herein lies the importance of environmental education. There is a saying, “I can only protect what I love; I can only love what I understand; I can only understand what I have learned.”

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What the Heck Is An E-Bird?

“E-bird”. Funny, I can’t find that one in my bird guide. Well, that’s because it’s not a real bird. It is however, a site on the internet where you can record real birds. E-bird is a new program launched recently by Audubon and Cornell University. It is part of a growing number of citizen science projects, promoted by National Audubon with participation from many Audubon members. The largest citizen science project is one called the Christmas Bird Count, with which most of you are already familiar. E-bird promises to become as important to researchers as the Christmas Bird Counts.

So what is E-bird? It is a web-based program where anyone who spends some time birding can enter their data by first finding their location on a map, entering information about how they did their birdwatching, and then the species and numbers of each that they identified. You can enter any bird information you have, from sightings in your back yard and your neighborhood to birds seen while driving, as well as any trip list of birds seen on a “formal” birding trip.

After that the information will be available to view over the web. You can keep track of your personal bird sightings. If you are interested, you can check what anybody else has put into the system for any area of the country for any species and for any specific date or range of dates. You can even see what birds have been seen where you’ll take your next vacation or business trip in the U.S. if someone has entered bird sightings for that area.

While there is little information now, because the program has just begun, E-bird promises to become an extremely important research tool for looking at bird populations, distribution, abundance and timing across the continent!

E-bird provides fascinating information in a very easy to use format. Check it out! Visit www.ebird.org/content/ Click on the E-Bird icon and start recording your bird sightings, from a view out the back window to a full day birding at your favorite locale!

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Coastal Maine Bird Studies Program

by Ryan Beaulieu

Hello to everyone in the Audubon Society. I would like first to express my gratitude to the Central New Mexico Audubon Society for allowing me the opportunity to have this great experience. If it wasn’t for these extraordinary people, my birding life as I know it would not exist. Thank you so very, very much! This trip was the most fun I have ever had in my entire life. I saw approximately 10 life birds and I also saw birds that I just couldn’t stop looking at.

Well, let’s start from day one, Sunday June 29. Everyone arrived at camp a little nervous and kind of quiet. We all got our luggage situated and then crowded on a boat to head over to Hog Island.

Once on the island a few of us went for a quick walk around to see what the island had in store for us. The first bird we heard and saw was a BLACK-THROATED GREEN-WARBLER. Then, a little later, we discovered Scott Weidensaul and Kenn Kaufman listening to a bird which later we find is a BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER male in breeding plumage high in a white spruce. What a magnificent bird! We then headed back to the cabin, put some of our gear in place, and headed out for dinner. This is when we really learned how everything worked.

June 30: We all awoke for the early morning bird walk and found a NORTHERN PARULA nest with an almost fully fledged juvi just waiting to be fed. After breakfast we headed out on the vans for a field trip to Seawall Beach. Kenn Kaufman and Scott Weidensaul came on this trip also, which is how we really became friends with these extraordinary authors. On the van ride to the beach I taught my friends the Sibley Game, which is a quiz game to test and strengthen birding abilities.

We then arrived at Seawall Beach... what a beautiful beach! This beach is 3 miles from any houses and it is illegal to park at the parking lot unless one has a permit. We had the opportunity to see this place which has nesting PIPING PLOVERS. We were able to see the plovers with their young and study the parenting process of this amazing species of bird.

Heading over to Popham Marsh enabled us to have a distant view of both SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS and a flock of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS which fortunately flew overhead. We then returned to the island, ate dinner, and went to an evening program.

July 1: We had to get up super early, eat breakfast, then make lunch because we were going to be out all day. Before we headed out to the vans, a few of us found a very conspicuous CAROLINA WREN singing and gleaning the lower brush of the area. We then left for Acadia National Park.

The park’s wildlife was stunning. It offered such things as a singing WINTER WRENS, AMERICAN REDSTARTS, and MAGNOLIA WARBLERS. We also saw an amazing species of wood-boring wasp and some awesome plants. That evening we ate pizza and had ice cream in Bar Harbor... we were very hyper!

July 2: Half of the group, including myself, hopped on a boat and headed out for a rare opportunity to land on Eastern Egg Rock Island and see what Project Puffin is all about. Project Puffin is an organization started by Dr. Stephen Kress who took seabird restoration into a whole new level. By making decoys and playing sounds the project was able to bring back many ATLANTIC PUFFINS to many islands in the Northeast. They were able to bring back the endangered ROSEATE TERN populations to reasonable numbers and the ARCTIC TERNS’s population increased as well. Everything about the project can be accessed from the website www.projectpuffin.org. We had the opportunity to view ATLANTIC PUFFINS, BLACK GUILLEMOTS, ROSEATE TERNS, ARCTIC TERNS, and COMMON TERNS very close to the blinds.

After departing the blinds, we sat on the roof of the project interns’ house and looked at terns. We identified fish that the terns were bringing in. I then had the opportunity to point out a RAZORBILL to Kenn, and as I was looking at it, a tern gave me a gift of guano right in the eye and on my binoculars. We headed back onto the boat and came to the main island where we shared our experiences with the other part of the group. The rest of the day we went to a few programs by Kenn and Scott, then rested.

July 3: Half of the group traveled to Eastern Egg Rock Island while we went to the Modomack Walk... a walk that Roger Tory Peterson mapped out on the main land. It consisted of exploring streets and looking in backyards for whatever we could find. We came upon such things as GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, ALDER FLYCATCHERS, and a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. We then met the other half of the group on Hog Island, ate lunch, and we were on our way to Clarry Hill Blueberry Barren where we saw birds such as UPLAND SANDPIPERS, VESPER SPARROWS, and SAVANNAH SPARROWS.

July 4: The whole group awoke early and headed for Wreck Island to see a large GREAT-BLUE HERON heronry. This was extraordinary because it was like being in “The Lost World” seeing and hearing ancient flying reptiles. We then had a tour of the entire island, and a little free time! Later, we ate dinner, went to an evening program showing all the fun things that occurred during camp, and packed for our departure on the following day.

July 5: We were all in tears as we waited for everyone to catch the last boat and leave Hog Island. We waved good-bye to the island, hugged each other and went our separate ways hoping to be reconnected some time in the future!

The Maine Audubon Society holds several summer programs, one of which is the Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens. This year we were proud to sponsor the attendance of local young birder, Ryan Beaulieu.

From the society’s description: This popular session, advised by Kenn Kaufman, is designed to provide a small group of interested teenagers aged 14 to 17 with opportunities to experience Audubon’s bird fieldwork. Participants work alongside Maine Audubon biologists as they monitor endangered Piping Plovers on their breeding grounds; venture out to a seabird island with Project Puffin to learn more about their conservation and restoration methods; learn field identification tips, birdsong recognition, conservation practices, and more from nationally known ornithologists; and attend an array of field trips to various habitats which is combined with slide presentations, mini-workshops, discussions.

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Audubon in the Classroom

As a member of CNMAS, one of the many chapter projects that you support is Audubon Adventures, the education resource kit for grades 3 through 6.

Materials are professionally designed to increase awareness and appreciation in children about birds, wildlife, and the natural systems of the earth and to create in them a sense of stewardship for the natural world. Audubon Adventures is aligned to National Standards for science and language arts. Each Classroom Resource Kit contains supplies for up to 32 students at a cost of $35.00 per kit plus $6.50 for shipping and handling.

Last year Central New Mexico Audubon provided Classroom Resource Kits for 18 classrooms in 10 elementary schools in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. Helen Haskell, coordinator of the program, hopes to increase the number of classrooms involved in this exciting program for our students.

Four themes in the Audubon Adventures series will be released this fall. These are: Grasslands, Coniferous Forests, Fresh Water Environments, and Urban Habitats. What makes it particularly exciting to us in New Mexico is the inclusion with each kit of Audubon New Mexico’s own “Wild Guide: Zooming In On the Southwest,” which was developed by Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe and last year featured Athene cunicularia - the Burrowing Owl! The talented folks at Randall Davey are right now developing a new “Creature Feature” for the Southwest!

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Birding For Fun = Birding For Science

Mesilla Valley Audubon Society (MVAS) is wrapping up its two-and-a-half year monitoring of birds at Leasburg Dam State Park and has an updated list of sightings, totaling 141 species through May 2003, available at the park and at their website, www.cybermesa.com/~mvas

Beginning in August, MVAS started work on a similar list for Caballo Lake and Percha Dam State Parks. Volunteers can participate in two ways: Sign up for whatever month(s) you want, bird there at least once during your month, and submit a complete list of species and numbers seen for each visit. Or if you can’t sign up for a particular month, please go ahead and send a list anytime you bird the area. Also, if you have any records from past visits that you’d be willing to share, they would be most appreciated. To sign up for a month, or to submit reports, e-mail Nancy Stotz at nstotz@zianet.com. Thanks, and happy birding!

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Still In Awe - A Summer Email

by Maxine Feldman

i have just had the most amazing experience this morning....
since moving here to New Mexico i have had the joy of watching hummingbirds come to my feeders...
there had been at least fifteen to twenty little delights for the past two summers....
well this year...
no one came...
:-( ...
i faithfully put out my feeders...
changed the food every three days to keep it fresh....
but all i got was ants...
:-( .... wellllllll...
three days ago i spied one hummer...
and i quickly changed the food in hopes it would come by...
i waited and waited......
nada zip zero zilch...
just ten minutes ago there was the little guy again and by now because of the heat we have had here (in the three digits) the food was almost evaporated...
so i grabbed the feeder...
cleaned it quickly (no ants this time... lol)...
and as i was walking back to hang it up...
the tiny Anna’s hummingbird flew right to my feeder as i was holding it...
i stood stock still...
i talked quietly to the little one...
he kept going to the four holes taking drinks...
as my hand was holding the feeder he decided to sit for a spell instead of moving those wings rapidly as he ate....
well damn he sat on my fingers....
not a care in the world...
no fear of me....
i decided to keep walking to hang up the feeder...
he flew to each hole again as i walked...
he flew around my head as i hung the feeder up...
just as i was about to let go of the feeder he once again rested on my hand...
i brought my hand slowly up to my face...
looked at this amazing little critter eyeball to eyeball...
smiled and said “thank you you made my day”....
he then took off.....
i am still grinning
Max.... still in awe

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Veracruz River of Raptors

Pronatura Veracruz and HawkWatch International October 5-13, 2003

Join HawkWatch staff and guides from Pronatura for this ecotour featuring four-to-six million Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks and Mississippi Kites - almost the entire world population for these three species - as they pass through Veracruz. Besides viewing this River of Raptors, we will watch birds from the coast to wetlands to mountainous highlands. We will also visit several archeological sites, shade tree coffee plantations, and the colonial city of Xalapa. Price per person of $1,995 includes all food, lodging, bilingual guides, entry fees, ground transportation in Mexico AND channels 25% of the price as a tax-deductible donation that goes to funding the research and environmental education efforts of Pronatura in the state of Veracruz. Visit www.hawkwatch.org, e-mail hwi@hawkwatch.org, or call Paul Grindrod at 1-800-726-HAWK (4295), ext. 111.

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Burrowing Owl Subscription Tidbits

• For changes of address or correction to your Burrowing Owl subscription, contact the Membership Chairperson (Ed Dover, edover@juno.com).
• If you are in the CNMAS Chapter area, you can receive the Burrowing Owl by sending your name and address with $12 to CNMAS, PO BOX 30002, Albuquerque, NM 87190-0002 - this does NOT include National Audubon membership or Audubon Magazine!
• You can also subscribe to our newsletter without being a member of our Chapter. If you live outside the CNMAS region, send $12 to the above address.
• If you wish to receive notice of our downloadable PDF newsletter (instead of a hard copy) give us your email address in addition to your name and address.
• Members can call (800) 274-4201 to sign up for National Audubon’s Paper-Free Renewal Program. Those who sign up will have their membership automatically renewed each year and will receive only one bill approximately 2 months in advance of your membership expiration date.

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A Note About Your Burrowing Owl Subscription

NOTICE: The next issue of the Burrowing Owl will be incorporated into the statewide Audubon-New Mexico Newsletter. The next regular issue of the Burrowing Owl will be published in March 2004.

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Download a membership form (PDF download)

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