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From Our Blog
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Barr Lake Christmas Bird Count
posted date:
12/20/2011 12:33:37 PM
 Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory will sponsor the Barr Lake Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on January 2, one of 48 CBC circles being surveyed in Colorado during the holiday season. The count is open to birders of all skill levels. Last year in the Barr Lake circle, 21 volunteers counted 27,446 birds of 63 species.
The world’s longest-running citizen-science survey, the CBC is organized by the National Audubon Society and was started in 1900 by Frank Chapman, founder of Bird-Lore (which evolved into Audubon magazine). Tens of thousands of volunteers throughout North America will brave winter weather to add to more than a century of data. Scientists rely on the remarkable trend data of the CBC to better understand how birds are faring in North America and beyond.
Volunteers for the Barr Lake count will meet at 7 a.m. at RMBO’s Old Stone House headquarters at 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, south off of Bromley Lane just east of Brighton. Hot beverages and donuts will be available as participants organize into seven groups to cover the count area. Volunteers should bring snacks, lunch, water, and their birding optics and field guides. After meeting back at the Stone House for lunch and a progress check, participants will fan out again to complete the count. Register here or contact compiler Chuck Hundertmark at chundertmark8(at)gmail.com or 303-604-0531.
All CBC counts are conducted from December 14 through January 5 each season, with each individual count occurring on a single calendar day. New participants join an established group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher. Volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile (24-km) diameter circle, or they can arrange in advance to count the birds at home feeders inside the circle and submit the results to a designated compiler.
With 2,215 counts involving 62,624 people tallying more than 60 million birds, last year’s CBC shattered records. Counts took place in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces, plus 107 count circles in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands.
Photo and story submitted by Chuck Hundertmark. Photo: This Winter Wren was one of 27,446 birds surveyed in 2010's Barr Lake CBC.
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Upcoming events
posted date:
12/19/2011 1:15:15 PM
Jan. 10, 1-3 p.m.: Winter Raptors on the Prairie, homeschool program for ages 6 - 10 at RMBO's Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Ln., Brighton, Colo. What do birds of prey eat and where do they find shelter in the winter? And lots more about raptors. Contact Cassy to register by Jan. 8: cassy.bohnet@rmbo.org or 303-659-4348 ext. 15.
Jan. 19, 2012, 6 p.m., From Basic to Advanced Birding with RMBO and Wild Birds Unlimited at 230 Cherry, Fort Collins, Colo. (east entrance). Whether you can tell a nuthatch from a chickadee OR NOT... Come on down! This fun presentation focuses on bird ID skills using local birds as examples. RMBO Outreach Biologist Jeff Birek will help both beginner and intermediate birders advance their skills and knowledge. Call Robert Gartrell at Wild Birds Unlimited to register: 970-225-2557. Free
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Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico: Book Review
posted date:
12/7/2011 3:21:14 PM
by Chuck Hundertmark
Birders heading for Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge will find Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico a handy guide, covering birding areas from just north of Albuquerque south to the refuge, one of the best-known in the country. Authors Judy Liddell and Barbara Hussey offer considerable and well-organized detail, making it easy to plan birding forays in the region. Published by Texas A & M University Press, the guide begins by introducing the area’s geography, life zones and habitats ranging from Chihuahuan desert scrubland to the rocky, spruce-fir-capped crest of the Sandia Mountains.
Chapters 3-8 are organized by sub-regions. Using the junction of I-25 and I-40 as a starting point, the authors describe birding hot spots along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque and Corrales, the Sandia Foothills, the east side of the Sandia Mountains, the Manzanita and Manzano Mountains, Petroglyph National Monument, and the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque.
Habitat descriptions, access points and trails are included for each hot spot, along with maps for nine of them and notes on which are eBird hot spots. Target species are listed with annotations about where and when they are likely to be found. Birders seeking to add southwestern species to their year or life lists will find this particularly useful, heading to the Elena Gallegos Picnic Area for Juniper Titmouse or the Bosque del Apache Visitor Center for Verdins. Other birds likely to be seen are listed with less detail. The Annotated Checklist at the end lists 241 species found regularly in this diverse area and is also useful for birders targeting particular species. Want to catch Ross’s Goose at Bosque del Apache? Don’t arrive before November, and if you go too late in February, your chances will be slimmer.
Birders will find help with planning trips, including tips on weather, altitude, safety, pests and public transportation. For each hot spot, the authors give directions and information on parking, facilities, special considerations and hazards, and the nearest food and gas. The final chapter is devoted to the American Birding Association’s Code of Birding Ethics.
The book’s organization inevitably leads to some redundancy. Harvester ants are numerous in New Mexico, so they get frequent mention as do rattlesnakes. While herp lovers would want to see rattlesnakes listed as target species, the authors appropriately list them with special considerations and hazards.
Although I spent 30 years birding the area covered by this guide, I plan to take it on my next trip to Bosque del Apache.
Chuck Hundertmark serves on RMBO’s board of directors. Before moving to Colorado in 1997, he spent 30 years in New Mexico where he served as president of the New Mexico Ornithological Society and Central New Mexico Audubon Society and was the founder of Rio Grande Bird Research Inc., a nonprofit conducting banding programs.
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Upcoming Events
Upcoming events
Jan. 10, 1-3 p.m.: Winter Raptors on the Prairie, homeschool program for ages 6 - 10 at RMBO's Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Ln., Brighton, Colo. Contact Cassy to register by Jan. 8: cassy.bohnet@rmbo.org or 303-659-4348 ext. 15.
Jan. 19, 2012, 6 p.m., From Basic to Advanced Birding at 230 Cherry, Fort Collins, Colo. (east entrance). This fun presentation focuses on bird ID skills using local birds as examples. RMBO Outreach Biologist Jeff Birek will help both beginner and intermediate birders advance their skills and knowledge. Call Robert Gartrell at Wild Birds Unlimited to register: 970-225-2557. Free
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Species of the Month:
Wilson's Phalarope
(Phalaropus tricolor)
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(photo: Bill Schmoker)
An elegant shorebird common on shallow ponds with grassy marshes, Wilson’s Phalarope uses a distinctive foraging technique while swimming in open water. Swimming in rapid, tight circles, it brings small invertebrate prey to the surface. Sexual roles are reversed, as the female is larger and more colorful than the male, defends the breeding territory, and actively courts males. Males are responsible for incubating the eggs and rearing the chicks. Chicks are out of the nest and foraging within hours of hatching and can swim at the age of one hour.
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