Fourth Annual Birds of Prey Photography Workshop!

by

Gail Garber,

Executive Director

It goes without saying that "a good time was had by all!" As evidenced in these photos and the dramatic image of Idaho, our Swainson's Hawk, taken by Patti Rosin. She later commented that she never thought she would be able to take such a photo! Well done Patti!

It would not have been possible without the gentle guidance of our expert photographers who helped each participant with their camera settings, angles, backdrops, or the lights or shadows that fell on one of the 13 raptors that also made this event such a success. We thank our experts, Keith Bauer, Doug Brown, Kristin Brown, and Larry Rimer. They teach from the heart, helping everyone from beginners with point and shoot cameras to those with fancy lenses.

Equally important were the volunteers that helped to display the birds: Chellye Porter, Allison Schacht, and Maggie Stein, who not only held the birds but also shared their individual stories.

Finally, thank you Carol Bauer, who spent her time taking "people" pictures, something that is often overlooked. All images in the collage were taken by Carol.

Thank you all!

Building a Better Birdhouse

by Maggie Stein,

Education & Outreach Coordinator

Living with the Landscape (LWL) is in full swing! The schools participating this year are Bellehaven, Pajarito, Navajo, and Armijo Elementary Schools. Thank you PNM Foundation for fully funding the yearlong program! 

A major aspect of the LWL program is the completion of a conservation project. School projects range from planting native plant species to installing recycle bins, or even doing litter removal. The fifth-graders complete the conservation project, which allows them to lead efforts to improve their school campus for wildlife and to set a positive example for younger students.

This year, the fifth-graders are creating new bird habitats by building bird houses. These bird houses are either hung up around the school or at the student’s homes. Each student assembles and paints their own bird house, and then decides on the location that will best be utilized by birds. The participating schools also receive a bird feeder to install on campus! The feeders and bird seed are donated by Wild Birds Unlimited.

Bellehaven Elementary fifth-graders just completed their project. We all had so much fun creating these bird homes! Our project day at Bellehaven was particularly exciting because the students got to meet Jemez, our permanently injured, non-releasable Mexican Spotted Owl. This is a federally listed threatened species and habitat fragmentation is cited as one of the leading causes. Meeting Jemez led to an interesting discussion about how increasing the songbird population could help raptor species like the Mexican Spotted Owl.

The next conservation project is at Pajarito Elementary in January. We are already looking forward to it! 

A huge thanks to our volunteer education assistants that help with every program: Mary Bruesch, Evelyn McGarry, Patti Rosin, and Amelia Thompson!  

Students at Bellehaven Elementary built and painted their own birdhouses as part of the school's conservation project. All images by Maggie Stein.

A Look Back at Winter 2019

by Trevor Fetz, Lead Avian Biologist

I have started analyzing data from 2019 for the Middle Rio Grande Songbird Study (MRGSS). I still don't have all the data from last summer, but I have done some analyses with the winter 2019 data. As you may recall, last winter was colder and wetter than most winters over the past decade or so. In fact, it was the wettest winter in the middle Rio Grande area since at least 2006. But, you also may recall that in 2018 there essentially was no winter--it was warm and almost completely dry throughout most of New Mexico, as drought conditions that began in early fall of 2017 carried on through much of 2018. Winter bird numbers in the bosque tend to reflect conditions present the previous year, as they are substantially impacted by conditions present during the previous breeding season. Such was the case with bosque bird numbers in winter 2019.

Although we surveyed the same sites the same number of times during both winter 2018 and winter 2019, we had 3,473 fewer total bird detections in winter 2019 than 2018. In contrast, among the 18 habitat types surveyed during both winters, avian density was actually higher in 2019 than 2018 in nine of those habitats, lower in eight habitats and exactly the same in one habitat. But, 20 of the transects we survey incorporate multiple habitats. Among the 20 mixed habitat transects, 17 had a lower density in winter 2019 with only three having a higher density.

Among individual bird species, 70 species were detected in lower numbers in winter 2019 than 2018, 42 species were detected in higher numbers in 2019 and five were detected the same number of times during both winters. The species showing the largest decreases from winter 2018 to winter 2019 were Song Sparrow (-1,555), White-crowned Sparrow (-1,409), American Robin (-1,031), Steller's Jay (-627), and Dark-eyed Junco (-303). The species showing the largest increases from winter 2018 to winter 2019 were Red-winged Blackbird (+3,048), House Finch (+588), European Starling (+157), Eastern Bluebird (+116), and Western Bluebird (+99).

The winter 2020 field season will get underway in December. With the wet conditions from last winter helping to facilitate better breeding conditions last summer throughout much of the state, we are hoping to document improved bird numbers this winter.

Song Sparrow image by Tony Giancola

T-shirt Fire Sale!

 

OK! So there wasn't a fire, thankfully! We have inventory that we need to sell and you can get a great deal on some of our past-year T-shirts – all on sale for $15 each…that’s half off!

 

We have cream-colored shirts in long and short sleeve.

Long-sleeve:

Women's (runs small) M,L, and XL. 

Men’s: 2XL and 3XL only. 

Short-Sleeve:

Women’s: L and XL

Men’s: 2X

 

25th Anniversary shirts (Teal)

Short Sleeve:

Women’s XL, 2XL, and 3XL

 

25 ^th Anniversary shirts (Sky Blue)

Short Sleeve:

Men's: M, L, XL, 2XL

Get them while you can!

 

A flat $8 shipping fee will be required, BUT, we will throw in a free Hawks Aloft Coffee mug! You can't beat that!

 

If you would like to order any of these, give us a call at 505-828-9455 (or stop by the office between 9 am - 1 pm weekdays. Save on shipping). 

You can also send us an email at [email protected] .

 

Happy Shopping!

Introducing Our Newest Adventure!

BRAZIL: Wildlife of the Pantanal

& Amazon Rainforest

With Hawks Aloft & Holbrook Travel

November 5 – 14, 2020

Located in west-central Brazil, the Pantanal is the world’s largest freshwater wetland and one of the most biodiverse, productive habitats in the Western Hemisphere. It harbors a world-record 82 species or large birds including Hyacinth Macaw, Jabiru, Toco Toucan, Greater Rhea, Scarlet Macaw as well as coatimundi, tapirs, and giant river otters.

Perhaps, however; no other animal is as beautiful and dramatic as the jaguar. Embark on this exceptional adventure providing opportunities for close range observation of abundant wildlife and the majestic jaguar. 

We will spend our final days of the trip in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, immersed in the dense tropical forest that is home to the highest concentration of birds species, with over 1,500 described species of rainforest birds. It is home to the Harpy Eagle, Bare-faced Currasow, King Vulture, Hoatzin, Plum-throated Cotinga, Spectacled Owl and much more.  The Amazon is also home to about 430 species of mammal, with more still to be discovered. Among the monkey species that could be seen are: Howler, Spider, Capuchin, Tamarin, Squirrel, Woolly, Uakari, Titi, Marmosets, and Night Monkeys, also called owl monkeys. Of course, aquatic life abounds in this habitat as well as the Pantanal.

Trip Highlights

Click Here for complete details, itinerary, and payment

Only 6 spots remain!

Support Hawks Aloft by Shopping at Smith's!

Many of you have long been Hawks Aloft supporters, and a good number of you have also been longtime Smith’s shoppers. For those not in the know, the grocery chain has a program that provides a small kick-back quarterly to nonprofits when their supporters link their shopper’s cards to the organization.

The company recently changed their policies regarding the program—so even if you’ve signed up in the past, you may need to do it again! The good news is that it is easy to do.

1)      Go to Smith's Foods

2)      Either create an account or sign-in to an existing one

3)      Once logged in, click on “Account Summary” on the left sidebar

4)      From there, scroll down to “Inspiring Donations Program” and click “Enroll”

5)      A searchable list will come up, you can either search for “Hawks Aloft” or enter our ID number for the program, GL430

6)      Shop using your card and now that every time you do so, you help out Hawks Aloft!

We appreciate your ongoing support in this, and so many other capacities!

*Check out intakes and thank-you's after the Photographer's Gallery*

Photographers Monthly Gallery

Featuring

Dennis Chamberlain

Dennis is a Certified Professional Photographer, a Master Photographer, and a Master Artist, as well as president of the Corrales Bosque Gallery. He is the Professional Photographers Association of New Mexico Photographer of the Year for 2019. He specializes in Southwestern art photography, and shows his work at the Belle of the West Gallery in Madrid, the Corrales Bosque Gallery, the Range in Bernalillo, and at Weems Gallery in Albuquerque.  His website is  www.dcphotoartistry.com

His next class is in Corrales on December 7. See his website for more details.

As the skies above have been filled with the calls of Sandhill Cranes, our collective thoughts turn toward these and other wintering species. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge makes a wonderful destination in the coming months to view these amazing birds.

Four of Dennis' five images are Sandhill Cranes, while the other is a Great Blue Heron.