THURSDAY BIRDER and CNMAS WEEKEND FIELD TRIPS, FALL 2016

[Rosyfinch]

You will be able to export and print these pages,
including a reminder to check for possible trip
cancellations on the CNMAS website.

SEPTEMBER 1
Walk around Calabacillas Arroyo with Maurice Mackey:
505-897-0415, Cell 505-220-9003, moemackey@comcast.
net. 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 Dr. for 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 Pi
Brewing and turn onto Westside Drive. The walk will end
before noon.

SEPTEMBER 8
Travel to Manzano pond in Manzano Pond 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
shared gas expense is $5 at five cents per mile.

SEPTEMBER 15
View the Belen Marsh 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 Hawthorn
Suites on Gibson and University Boulevard or 8:30 at the
marsh. To reach the marsh, take Exit 195 to Belen from
I-25. Drive east one mile to the Taco Bell parking lot on
the south and park there. The hike at WWCA is a flat
1.5-mile walk. Lunch will be at RIBS, 120 Nelson Lane, in
Los Lunas. For those not driving, the shared gas expense is
$4 at five cents per mile.

SEPTEMBER 22
Walk around the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park
with Leah Henzler: 505-280-2085, [e-mail].
Meet at 8:15 a.m. at the Candelaria Wetland Blind in the
northeast corner of the Nature Center parking lot. A $3
parking fee, State Parks pass, or Friends of the RGNC pass
is required per car. Both passes may be purchased inside
the Visitor Center after 10:00. The walk will end before
noon.

SEPTEMBER 29
Drive to Cochiti Lake with Judy Liddell: 505-220-
7998, [e-mail]. Meet at 7:50 a.m. for an 8:00
departure from the center of the parking lot in the Far
North Shopping Center on the east side of San Mateo
and the north side of Academy Boulevard. The group will
access the lake from NM 16 in order to take the Tetilla
Peak Road on the north side of the lake. People can meet
the group on NM 16 at the turn-off to Tetilla Peak at 8:30,
but PLEASE let Judy know to expect you there. Bring
lunch. For those not driving, the shared gas expense is $5
at five cents per mile. The main part of the trip will end
after lunch. There will be the option of driving through
Pena Blanca after lunch. The group should be back in
Albuquerque in the mid-afternoon.

OCTOBER 6
Travel to the Randall Davey Audubon Center in
Santa Fe, NM, with Lefty Arnold: 505-514-9398,
[e-mail]. Meet at 8:17 a.m. for an
8:27 departure from the center of the parking lot in the Far
North Shopping Center on the east side of San Mateo and
the north side of Academy. Randall Davey is 1800 Upper
Canyon Road. Bring lunch. For those not driving the
shared gas expense is $6 at five cents per mile. The group
should be back in Albuquerque in the mid afternoon.

OCTOBER 13
Visit Cienega Canyon in the Sandia Mountains with
Gale Owings: 505-255-8333. Meet at 8:20 a.m. for
an 8:30 departure from the west side of the Four Hills
Shopping Village on Central Avenue between Juan Tabo
and Tramway Boulevard. The group will park in the lower
parking lot in Cienega Canyon and walk up to the spring
at the upper parking lot and back for a total of one mile. A
$3 parking fee or federal pass is required per car. For those
not driving, the shared gas expense is $1.50 at five cents
per mile. The trip will end before noon.

OCTOBER 20
Walk the perimeter of Poblanos Fields Open Space with
Lannois Neely: 505-890-7881, [e-mail]. Meet
at 8:30 a.m. in the Open Space parking lot. To reach the
fields turn north from Montano Boulevard on Tierra Viva,
east of the Rio Grande. It will be an easy 1.5-mile walk
ending before noon.

OCTOBER 27
Visit Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
with Rebecca Gracey: 505-242-3821, maryrebeccagracey@
gmail.com. Meet at 8:20 a.m. for an 8:30 departure
from the parking lot behind the Hawthorn Suites on
University and Gibson. A secondary meeting place will be
McDonald’s in Socorro at 9:45. 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.

NOVEMBER 3
Visit Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge with Becky
Purvis: 505-688-1998, [e-mail]. Meet at 9:00
a.m. at the refuge entrance 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. 

NOVEMBER 10
Hike in the Elena Gallegos Open Space with Perrianne
Houghton: 505-321-2015, [e-mail].
Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the parking lot for Cottonwood
Trail. To reach the lot, turn east on Simms Park Road
from Tramway Boulevard between San Rafael Avenue on
the north and Spain Road on the south. There are many
parking areas there, so after paying the $1 parking fee,
drive counter-clockwise around the entry station and drive
north toward the Kiwanis Group Reservation Area. The
parking lot for Cottonwood Trail is there. This is an easy
1.5-mile walk that will end before noon.

NOVEMBER 17
No trip is planned since this is the week of the Festival
of the Cranes at the Bosque del Apache. Enjoy the festival!

NOVEMBER 24
No trip is planned for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Other Birding Opportunities

Festival of the Cranes, November 15–20, at the Bosque
del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, 12 miles south of
Socorro. See story in current issue of Burrowing Owl.

Visit the hawk watch site on Capilla Peak in the
Manzano Mountains, August 27- November 5. For more
information go to www.hawkwatch.org/migration, or
call 800-726-4295. Forest Road 245 out of the town of
Manzano requires a high-clearance vehicle, and the 0.7-
mile walk from the parking area to the hawk watch site is
a Class 3 hike, climbing to 9,300 feet. It can be cold and
windy.

During September and through the Balloon Fiesta
in October there are Tuesday morning bird walks in the
Sandia Mountains sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service.
Meet at the Sandia Ranger Station at 8 a.m. The ranger
station may be reached from I-40 by taking exit 175. Drive
south one half mile on NM 337 to the ranger station on
the east.

There are Saturday and Sunday morning bird walks at
the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park at the far west
end of Candelaria NW beginning at 8:30 a.m.

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CNMAS Fall Weekend Field Trips

Melrose Trap, September 11
Join Kim Score on a Sunday trip to the well-known
hotspot, the Melrose Trap. This two-acre cottonwood grove
with permanent water in the eastern plains is an oasis
in a sea of prairie, making it an ideal stop-over point for
many migrating species. Most noted for attracting vagrant
warblers, the Melrose Trap is also a great place to find
eastern vireos, thrushes, and flycatcher species. Like it or
not, this will also be an opportunity to practice Empidonax
flycatcher identification. Anything is possible, so expect
surprises. Since there is limited space for parking on the
property, this trip will be limited to 10 participants. We
will be meeting at 6:00 a.m. in Fort Sumner and driving
to the site together. Depending on level of interest we may
also visit Bosque Redondo Lake. Please RSVP to Kim
Score, [e-mail] for more information. Carpooling
can also be arranged from Albuquerque.

Las Vegas NWR, September 17
Join Judy Liddell and Barbara Hussey to enjoy the
large numbers of migrating Swainson’s Hawks, as well as
migrating sparrows, possible Lark Buntings, Yellow-headed
Blackbirds and others. If time permits, we may check out
migrating shorebirds at Storrie Lake State Park (State Park
Pass or day use fee - $5). RSVP Judy Liddell, jliddell@
msn.com for local and Las Vegas area meeting times and
locations.

Brantley Lake and Rattlesnake
Springs, October 8 & 9
Join Christopher Rustay for a two-day trip to
southeastern NM. On the afternoon of the 8th, we
will meet at 2 p.m. at “Cheapskate Point” at Brantley
Lake. We will look for unusual herons, shorebirds and
gulls. Depending on water levels on the lake, we may
visit various access points, which may require slow
driving over rutted roads. The next morning we’ll head to
Carlsbad Caverns picnic spot and renowned migrant trap,
Rattlesnake Springs. We will meet at 7 a.m. and bird till
about noon. This time of year unusual birds can show up,
like odd vireos, warblers or anything else! And hopefully,
Gray Hawks should still be around.
Please bring sunscreen and bug spray—especially for
chiggers which will still be a possibility in early October.
Walking will be easy at both locations. Directions will be
given to those indicating an interest. RSVP with C. Rustay,
[e-mail] and let him know if there is interest in
carpooling.

Tingley Beach Bosque Ponds,
November 5
Walk along the Rio Grande, around the Tingley bosque
ponds, and the Tingley Beach fishing ponds with Lefty
Arnold: 505-514-9398, [e-mail].
Meet at 8:27 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 off Tingley Drive and
turn right at the stop sign 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 a mile
and a half and will end before noon.