Central NM Audubon Society Field Trips, March through May

[Rosyfinch]

From the CNMAS newsletter Burrowing Owl

Weekend Trip Schedule

Central New Mexico Audubon offers weekend field trips approximately once a month. All members and non-members are welcome to join us for these trips. Always contact your leader prior to the trip: plans may change (rarely) and leaders appreciate knowing how many participants to expect. Most trips are within an hour or two of Albuquerque, but trips to more distant locations are offered regularly. CNMAS and its leaders encourage car-pooling, especially on longer trips. Field trip coordinator Cole Wolf welcomes suggestions, comments, and questions about trips; contact him at [e-mail].

Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6: The NM Bootheel, Clanton and Guadalupe Canyons

Leader: Christopher Rustay, [e-mail]

Meet in Lordsburg at 7:00 a.m. in the McDonald’s parking lot. From there we will travel to Clanton Canyon stopping to see what may be in the grasslands or riparian areas that are along the way. In Clanton we’ll be looking for southwestern NM specialties such as Arizona Woodpecker and Bridled Titmouse. We will finish the day by traveling to Douglas, Arizona where we’ll spend the evening. Sunday morning we’ll meet at 7:30 a.m. in the Motel 6 parking lot and travel into Guadalupe Canyon. We will spend the morning in Guadalupe Canyon. There is the possibility of finding Rufous-winged Sparrow, which was found earlier this winter in the canyon. Who knows what else may be around? Very low clearance vehicles may have trouble in Clanton Canyon and on the road into Guadalupe Canyon. There will be a LOT of walking in Guadalupe Canyon though on relatively level ground (about 10 miles). Participants should plan on carrying water and food for lunch on both days.

Saturday and Sunday, April 9 & 10: Sandia HawkWatch Site

Leader: Roger Grimshaw, [e-mail], 407-319-0280

Visit HawkWatch’s raptor observation site at the peak of migration. Four falcon species are possible amid the more common Cooper’s & Sharp-shinned Hawks, as well as Golden Eagles, Goshawks, and others. Meet outside Starbucks in the Four Hills parking lot (S of Central and W of Tramway) at 8:00 a.m. to carpool for the 10-minute drive to Three Gun Spring trailhead at Monticello. It’s a 1.5-mile STEEP hike 1,200 feet up to the observation point. You can take your time on the hike birding along the way but a reasonable level of fitness is necessary. Bring stout footwear and hiking poles, at least 2 quarts of water, snacks and lunch, and warm, wind and waterproof clothing. We should be at “obs” around 10, stay as long as you wish. In the event of bad weather we’ll do a couple of hours of desert birding along the trail. (**Coordinator’s Note: There are no longer formal counts at the Sandia HawkWatch site, so this trip is a great chance to observe raptor migration with an experienced “HawkWatcher”)

Saturday, April 23: Corrales Bosque

Leader: Judy Liddell, [e-mail], [phone]

Meet at the shopping center on the NE corner of Alameda and Corrales Rd. in front of Little Anita’s at 7:30 a.m. Our exact destination in the bosque will depend on the birds. We’ll walk the bosque and levee trails until about 11 searching for migrant flycatchers, warblers, and other songbirds.

Saturday, April 30: Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area and Belen Marsh

Leader: Linda Heinz, [e-mail], [phone]

Meet Cole Wolf at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot behind the Hawthorne Suites on Gibson and University, or meet the group at 8:15 a.m. at WWCA, 2424 Highway 47, on the east side of the Rio Grande, (1 mile north of the intersection of E River Rd. and Hwy 47) in Belen. Many migrating species arrive at Whitfield in April, including Swallows, Swainson’s Hawks, Hummingbirds, Kingbirds and shorebirds. We’ll view more shorebirds later in the morning at the Belen Marsh behind Taco Bell, with the possibility of Burrowing Owl nearby. This is a half-day trip with an easy 1.5 mile-walk at WWCA. Contact the leader for more information.

BIRDATHON — Sunday, May 1: NM Migrant Traps and More….

Join us as we bird the eastern plains for migrant songbirds, shorebirds, and any other birds we can find. We’ll start the morning at the Melrose Trap east of Fort Sumner and work our way south to Bitter Lake NWR stopping at various playa lakes and migrant traps along the way. After Bitter Lake and lunch in Roswell we’ll head towards Brantley Lake. Time permitting we will check the foothills of the Guadalupe Mountains for Varied Bunting, Gray Vireos, and other local specialties. We will end the day at Rattlesnake Springs for last minute migrants and owls. Participants are welcome to join us for the whole day, a half-day, or in spirit by pledging money towards our team. Contact Raymond VanBuskirk: [phone] or [e-mail], for details on meeting location, time, or how to pledge.

Saturday, May 7: Quarai and East Mountain Migrants

Leader: Cole Wolf, [e-mail], [phone]

Meet in front of the Starbuck’s at Central and Tramway at 6:00 a.m. The drive to Quarai takes about an hour. We’ll spend the morning birding the riparian woods around the ruins. Our main target will be migrant warblers (almost twenty species have been reported there), but we also hope to see some of the area’s breeding birds, including Great Horned Owl, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Blue Grosbeak. On the way back we’ll stop at several other locations that attract migrants.

Saturday May 21: Birding the Mora River

Leader: Christopher Rustay, [e-mail]

Visit the King Ranch north of Las Vegas. This private ranch has some great riparian forest along the Mora River. Meet at the Allsup’s Convenience Store west of the second Las Vegas exit off of I-25 (exit 345) at 7:30 a.m. We’ll look for migrating songbirds and local residents in some spectacular habitat that is normally closed to public access.