Central NM Audubon Thursday Birders Schedule Spring 2017

[Rosyfinch]

Thursday Birder Spring 2017 Schedule

MARCH 2
Walk in the bosque near the Rio Grande and Bridge
Boulevard SW with Rebecca Gracey: 505-242-3821,
[e-mail].
Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the parking lot of the National
Hispanic Cultural Center located at 1701 4th St. SW. To
reach the center, take the Caesar Chavez exit from 1-25
and drive west on Caesar Chavez that becomes Bridge
Boulevard as it nears 4th Street. The group will walk
about one mile along the ditch and levee. The walk will
end before noon.

MARCH 9
Walk the perimeter of Poblanos Fields Open Space
with Lannois Neely: 505-890-7881, [e-mail].  
Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the open space parking lot. To reach
the fields turn north from Montano Boulevard onto
Tierra Viva Place, east of the Rio Grande River. It will
be an easy 1.5-mile walk ending before noon.

MARCH 16
Visit Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge in
the south valley with Becky Purvis: 505-688-1998,
[e-mail]. Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the parking
area on 2nd Street by the refuge sign. 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 entrance.
The group will drive to different areas of the refuge
and take a couple of half-mile walks. The trip will end
before noon.

MARCH 23
Walk around the Albuquerque Open Space Visitor
Center and nearby bosque with Sara Jayne Cole: 505-
503-5599, [e-mail]. Meet at 9:00 a.m.
in the center’s parking lot on the east side of Coors
Boulevard. The entrance road, Bosque Meadows Road, is
located north of Montano Road and south of Paseo del
Norte. It will be an easy one-mile walk. The trip will end
before noon.

MARCH 30
Hike the Copper Trailhead Open Space at the east
end of Copper Avenue NE, east of Tramway Boulevard,
in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains with Barbara
Hussey: 505-385-1165, [e-mail]. Meet at
9:00 a.m. in the small parking area. There is also parking
along Copper. The one-mile walk winds uphill and
downhill on disintegrating granite, so a walking stick
might be helpful. The walk will end before noon.

APRIL 6
Drive to Pena Blanca, NM, and Cochiti Lake with
Judy Liddell: 505-220-7998, [e-mail]. Meet
at 7:50 a.m. for an 8:00 departure from the middle
of the parking lot in the Far North Shopping Center
on the west side of San Mateo and north of Academy
Boulevard. Carpooling is encouraged since it could be
worrisome to the residents of Pena Blanca to have a
caravan driving through their village. If you want to meet
the group west of I-25 on NM 22 to Santo Domingo
and Pena Blanca, contact Judy before April 5. Bring
lunch. The trip should end in the mid afternoon. For
those not driving, the shared gas expense is $5 at five
cents per mile.

APRIL 13
Walk around the Tingley bosque ponds with Linda
Otterson: 505-280-3123, [e-mail].
Meet at 8:30 a.m. 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 then 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 ending before noon.

APRIL 20
Travel to the Belen Marsh in Belen, NM, and the
Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area with Linda
Heinze: 505-565-1441, [e-mail]. Meet
at 7:50 a.m. for an 8:00 departure from the parking
lot behind the Hawthorne Suites on Gibson SE and
University Boulevard or 8:30 at the Belen Marsh. To
reach the marsh, take the first Belen exit from I-25, Exit
195, drive east one mile, turn south and park in the Taco
Bell parking lot. After birding at the marsh, the group
will visit the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area on
NM 47. Participants are invited to have lunch together
at the Bamboo Express located at 143 Hwy 314 in Los
Lunas.  After lunch the group will stop at “Owlville”
near Los Lunas to look for Burrowing Owls. For those
not driving, the shared gas expense is $3.50 at five cents
per mile.

APRIL 27
Hike Embudito Canyon with Lefty Arnold: 505-
514-9398, [e-mail]. Meet at 8:27
a.m. in the trailhead parking lot. To reach the canyon,
drive east on Montgomery past Tramway, then turn left
on Glenwood Hills. Continue 0.4 of a mile, turn right
on Trailhead Road and continue to the parking lot. This
is an easy 1.5-mile walk ending before noon.

MAY 4
Walk in the Pueblo Montano Open Space
with Pauline and Bernie Morris: 505-369-1227,
[e-mail]. Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the
parking lot that is located on the south side of Montano
Road and east side of Coors Boulevard. There is an
entrance from both of those roads. It will be an easy
two-mile walk ending before noon.

MAY 11
Travel to Manzano pond in Manzano and Quarai
National Monument with Bonnie Long: 505-379-1985,
[e-mail]. Meet at 7:50 a.m. for an 8:00
departure from the west side of the Four Hills Shopping
Village on Central Avenue between Tramway and Juan
Tabo NE or meet Bonnie at the intersection of NM 337
and NM 55 at 8:50. Bring lunch. For those not driving,
the gas expense is $5 at five cents per mile.

MAY 18
Walk in Calabacillas Arroyo with Maurice Mackey:
505-897-0415, [e-mail]. The group
will meet at 8:00 a.m. in the parking lot on the west side
of the Rio Grande. The area is reached by driving north
on Coors, past Paseo Del Norte and Irving Boulevard,
turning east on Westside Drive. Look for the Pi Brewing
Co. sign. Follow Westside Drive about 0.2 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 Pi
Brewing and turn onto Westside Drive. The walk will
end before noon.

MAY 25
Visit Carlito Springs, a Bernalillo County Open
Space on the southeastern face of the Sandia Mountain
Range with Leah Henzler: 505-280-2085, lfcairns@
gmail.com. Meet at 8:20 a.m. for an 8:30 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. There are few parking places at the open space so
carpooling to Carlito Springs is necessary. The walk will
be 1.5 miles in length on a good trail that is very steep in
places. The walk will end before noon.

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CNMAS Spring 2017 Weekend Field Trips

Coyote del Malpais Golf Course
Saturday, April 29
Join Kim Score on a Saturday trip to Cibola County’s
newest hotspot, the Coyote del Malpais Golf Course.
Located one hour west of Albuquerque in Grants,
this beautiful golf course has 16 lakes, which attract
numerous breeding birds and many migrating species.
In addition to waterfowl, we are likely to find gulls,
dowitchers, avocets, stilts, ibis, phalarope, and several
species of sandpipers. Bring your spotting scopes and
cameras! Participants will be walking over three miles
round-trip at 6500 feet in elevation as we explore the
golf course. Depending on level of interest we may also
visit other nearby hotspots like Acomita Lake and the El
Malpais National Conservation Area. Meet at 7:00 a.m.
at the Shell gas station off I-40’s exit 89. Please RSVP
to Kim Score,
[e-mail]
 for more information.
Carpooling can also be arranged from Albuquerque.

Glenwood
Saturday, May 20
Meet Christopher Rustay at the Glenwood Fish
Hatchery at 7 a.m.  To get there, turn onto Hwy 174 or
Cat Walk Road from Hwy 180 in Glenwood and travel
east for about 0.2 mile. We will bird there and then head
to the Catwalk, where a Forest Service acess fee or pass
may be required.
The Catwalk is a fascinating piece of history with a
metal walkway that hovers above Whitewater Creek in a
narrow slot canyon. It recreates the experience that early
miners had when inspecting a pipeline leading from
mines in the mountains to processing plants further
downstream.
The trail is an easy walk as will be the birding. We will
end around 11 a.m. to noon. In the afternoon, depending
on people’s interests, we could hit spots along the San
Francisco River, the town of Mogollon, Pueblo Park,
Apache Creek Campground and/or Quemado Lake.
I would like to limit the trip to the Catwalk to four
cars.  But others could meet us at the Hatchery and then
drive solo to the Catwalk.
For more info, including lodging in Glenwood, and
to arrange for car pools from  Albuquerque contact
Christopher at [e-mail].


CNMAS Website
http://cnmas.newmexicoaudubon.org