AUDUBON THURSDAY BIRDERS AND CNMAS FIELD TRIPS - WINTER 2015-16

[Rosyfinch]

Thursday Birders

Thursday Birders meet almost every Thursday in Albuquerque. You don’t need to let the leader know you will be attending – just show up at the meeting spot no later than the specified time. If you have any questions email or call the trip leader for that particular day.
 
Thursday December 3rd, 2015
Durand Open Space
w/ Becky Purvis ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Meet at 9:00 am in the open space parking lot at 4812 Isleta SW. To reach the open space, drive south on I-25 and exit on Rio Bravo. Drive west on Rio Bravo and turn south onto Isleta Boulevard. Drive two miles to the property on the east. The walk will be about one mile in length and will end before noon.

Thursday December 10th, 2015
Bear Canyon
Followed by a holiday potluck lunch at the home of Liz and Larry Kuo
w/ Rebecca Gracey ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
 Meet at 10:00 am in the Michael Emery Trailhead parking lot east of Tramway on Spain. (Spain is north of Montgomery and south of Paseo del Norte.) Follow Spain until it ends on High Desert. Turn right for a short distance to the parking lot. The group will walk a mile and then go to the Kuo’s nearby home for lunch. Soup, coffee, and hot cider will be provided. Everyone else should bring other dishes and beverages to share with the group. Directions to the Kuo’s home will be handed out at the hike. If not attending the walk, contact Rebecca for directions.

Thursday December 17th, 2015
Embudito Canyon
w/ Lefty Arnold ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Meet at 8:57 am in the Embudito Trailhead parking lot. To reach the canyon drive east on Montgomery past Tramway, then turn left on Glenwood Hills. Continue 0.4 miles before turning right on Trailhead Road. This is an easy one-mile walk that will end before noon.

Thursday December 24th, 2015
Christmas Eve, no trip planned.

Thursday December 31st, 2015
Valle de Oro NWR
w/ Lannois Neely & Sara Jayne Cole ~ [e-mail] & [e-mail]  ~ [phone] & [phone]
Meet at the refuge buildings at  9:00 am. To reach the refuge, drive south on I-25 and take the Rio Bravo exit. Drive west on Rio Bravo to 2nd Street. Turn south on 2nd and drive 3.2 miles to the parking area by the refuge sign.  The trip will end before noon.

Thursday January 7th, 2016
Torrance County
w/ Bonnie Long ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Meet at 7:50 am for an 8:00 departure from the parking lot on the west side of the Tijeras Senior Center on NM 333/ Rt. 66. To reach the parking area turn north on Tijeras Avenue, just west of the Tijeras Library. The group will drive south of Moriarty and Estancia to look for raptors. Lunch will be at the Old Mill in Estancia. The group should be back in Tijeras in the late afternoon. For those not driving the shared gas expense is $5 at five cents per mile.

Thursday January 14th, 2016
Tingley Beach
w/ Leah Henzler ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Meet at 9:00 am at the north end of the Tingley Beach parking lot. To reach the area, drive west on Central Avenue past Rio Grande Boulevard, then turn left on Tingley Drive. Take the first right from Tingley Drive, and at the stop sign turn right to the dirt overflow parking lot. This leaves the few parking spots by the concession stand for people who want to fish. The walk will be about one mile in length and will end before noon.

Thursday January 21st, 2016
Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area
w/ Linda Heinze ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Meet at 8:50 am for a 9:00 departure from the parking lot behind the Hawthorn Suites on Gibson and University Boulevard or 9:45 at WWCA on NM 47. The walk will be about 1.5 miles in length. Lunch will be at Henrietta’s in Los Lunas, located at 740 Main St. NE.  The trip should end mid afternoon. For those not driving, the shared gas expense is $4 at five cents per mile.

Thursday January 28th, 2016
Alameda Open Space
w/ Gale Owings ~ [phone]
Meet at 9:00 am in the Open Space parking lot on the south side of Alameda Boulevard, just east of the Rio Grande River. The one-mile walk will end before noon.

Thursday February 4th, 2016
Bosque del Apache NWR
w/ Judy Liddell ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Meet at 7:50 am for an 8:00departure from the parking lot behind the Hawthorne Suites on University and Gibson. A secondary meeting place will be McDonald’s in Socorro at 9:15 for a quick rest stop and just enough time to get food to go. The group will depart for the Bosque del Apache at 9:30. Bring lunch. A $5 entrance fee or Federal pass is required per car. The group should be back in Albuquerque in the late afternoon. For those not driving the shared gas expense is $10 at five cents per mile.

Thursday February 11th, 2016
Corrales Bosque
w/ Rebecca Gracey ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Meet at 8:50 am for a 9:00 departure from the shopping area north of Alameda Road/NM 528 and east of NM 448/Coors/Corrales Road. Participants should park away from the businesses. The group will carpool from there. All are invited to have lunch afterwards at Village Pizza in Corrales.

Thursday February 18th, 2016
Sandia Crest
w/ Barbara Hussey ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Meet at 9:50 am for a 10:00 departure from the west side of the Four Hills Shopping Village located on Central Avenue between Tramway and Juan Tabo. Snacks or lunch may be bought at the Crest House restaurant as the group waits inside for the Rosy-Finches to arrive at the feeders. A $3 parking fee or Federal Pass is required per car. For those not driving the shared gas expense is $3 at five cents per mile. The trip should end in the early afternoon.

Thursday February 25th, 2016
Calabacillas Arroyo
w/ Maurice Mackey ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
The group will meet at 9:00 am in the parking lot that is located on the west side of the Rio Grande River. The area is reached by driving north on Coors, past Paseo Del Norte and Irving Boulevard, turning east on Westside Drive. Look for the Nicky V’s Neighborhood Pizzeria sign. Follow Westside Dr. about 0.2 of a mile to an open gate on the left. Go through the gate and down the arroyo to the parking area. If driving south on Coors from Corrales or Alameda, get in the left turn lane at Nicky V’s and turn onto Westside Drive. The walk will end before noon.

If you have any comments, concerns, suggestions, or praise for the Thursday Birders trips contact Rebecca Gracey.  


CNMAS Winter Weekend Field Trips

CNMAS Trips occur irregularly throughout the year on weekends. Notice that some trips are overnight events. Be sure and contact leaders before you attend! Please make sure to contact your leader prior to the trip as plans may change, leaders appreciate it and some trips are limited to a set number of participants.  CNMAS and its leaders encourage car-pooling, especially on longer trips.

Sunday, January 17th, 2016
Sandia Crest
Join Jason Kitting ([e-mail]) at the Sandia Crest to hunt for the three species of Rosy-finch from the comfort of the warm crest house!  Rio Grande Bird Research will also be at the crest banding rosy-finches so you will get an up close and personal look at these amazing mountain birds.  We will also make a trip out along the crest trail to look for other mountain specialties such as Cassin’s Finch, Red Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak, and American Three-Toed Woodpecker.  We will meet in front of the Starbucks at Tramway and Central at 8am and the crest house around 10am.  There is food available at the crest house and please respect their no outside food rule.
Trip will be over by 1pm

Saturday January 30th, 2016
Embudito Canyon
w/ Judy Liddell ~ [e-mail] ~ [phone]
Species seen regularly in January include Cactus Wren, Curve-billed and Crissal Thrashers, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Rock and sometimes Canyon Wrens, Canyon Towhee, Townsend’s Solitaire and White-crowned and Rufous-crowned Sparrows. The canyon often attracts rarities. We will only be exploring the base of the canyon. Meet at 9:00 am in the trailhead parking lot. We will be back to our cars before noon.


If you have any comments, concerns, suggestions, or praise for the CNMAS Field Trips contact the Field Trip Director.     

Other Birding Opportunities

But that’s not all, we want to share the love! There are many other groups that organize trips in the New Mexico. Here we have provided a list of field outings sponsored by other organizations.

Rio Grande Nature Center Weekend Bird Walks
Every Saturday & Sunday – 8:30 am
w/ Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park
The FRGNC offers birding trips every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year starting at 8:30 am. Walks are FREE and open to anyone. They start at the Candelaria Wetlands Blind in the Northeast corner of the parking lot at the Rio Grande Nature Center and last from 1 to 3 hours touring the grounds at the Nature Center. Note that there is a parking fee of $3 unless you have a New Mexico State Parks Pass or Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center pass.
For more information about the Rio Grande Nature Center, visit the friends webpage by clicking here.
 
Sangre De Cristo Audubon Society Field Trips
Sangre De Cristo Audubon (based in Santa Fe, NM)  has regular field trips throughout the year. Click here  to see a complete list of trips scheduled from April 2015 through April 2016.