More Feedback from visitors to the Rosy-Finch feeders at Sandia Crest

Rosy-Finches at Sandia Crest
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LINK TO MORE RECENT CORRESPONDENCE
ARCHIVED CORRESPONDENCE THROUGH THE WINTER OF 2005-2006 FOLLOWS (LATEST ON TOP)

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The Rio Grande Bird Researchers captured 553 rosy-finches during the winter of 2005-6, of which 298 were newly banded (44 Brown-capped, 221 Black, and 33 Gray-crowned, including 5 Hepburn's race), a remarkable achievement.  The 255 recaptures included 7 Brown-capped and one Black first banded in December, 2004, and a Black that was originally banded on March 20, 2005. Here is their final report for this winter:

Date: April 2, 2006
From: Steve and Nancy Cox

We tried hard but we did not band any new birds today.  We even had a great group of people trying their best to urge the birds to cooperate.  We only saw 2 unbanded birds.  We captured 30 same season repeats (26 Blacks, 3 Brown-capped and 1 Gray-crowned).

We look forward to seeing these birds next winter.
Hope to see you all again too.
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Date: March 26, 2006
From: Nancy and Steve Cox

The banding team was able to band 4 more Black Rosy-Finches yesterday, Saturday March 25.  That means we now stand at 298 Rosy-Finches banded for the winter 2005-2006.  We have decided to give it one more try on Sunday April 2.

They also recaptured 49 Blacks, 14 Brown-capped and 5 Gray-crowned.  Three of the Gray-crowned were Hepburn's.  All were originally banded this season.

Raymond could not resist banding a Pine Siskin since we have not seen any this season.
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Date: March 19, 2006
From: Nancy Cox

Hi all,

We had another day with snow but this time without the horrible wind of last week-end.  We banded 4 new Rosy-Finches (2 Blacks and 1 each of Brown-capped and Gray-crowned).  Totals for this winter are 44 Brown-capped, 217 Blacks, and 33 Gray-crowned.  We were not able to capture the 6th Hepburn's.

We had a total of 35 same season repeats today (25 Blacks, 6 Brown-capped and 4 Gray-crowned - including one Hepburn's). Our best news is that we caught another Black that we had originally banded in 2004. Next Saturday will probably be our last banding date at the Crest until they return.  We will miss them.
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Matt Victoria (see his February 13 note, below)  has posted some nice images of the rosy-finches at his Web site:

Date: March 13, 2006
From: Matt Victoria, Camillus, NY

Greetings All!   The Rosy-Finch photos, as well as my other nm-se az pics are now available for viewing on my webiste at the address below.     THANKS!!

webpage:     http://www.fickity.net
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These notes from Nancy Cox and the Rio Grande Bird Research banders are self-explanatory--

Date: March 11, 2006
Subject: SNOW!!!

The weather forecast doesn't not look good for banding at the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park tomorrow (3/11).  So, instead of hem-hawing tomorrow morning I am going to cancel the banding at the RGNC. Now, the Sandias have been getting snow this morning!  Yeah!  And, with Raymond's encouragement, even though we don't have an official banding day for Rosy-Finches, our time would likely be better spent up at the Crest.  We are hoping to be able to band at least 11 more Rosy-Finches and go over 300 birds banded this winter.  Also,  with a little snow, it might bring in some of those previous year banded birds...

We got word today that there is another unbanded Hepburn's at the Crest.  That makes 6 this season!  We will check it out tomorrow.

Date: March 12, 2006
Subject: WINDY!!!

We gave it our best shot today but the wind defeated us.  Gene's wind gauge was indicating gusts as high as 80 mph. It had already blown the feeder off when we got there and then it proceeded to blow our traps around.  There were Rosy-Finches around, however they mostly stayed down below the deck sheltered somewhat from the wind.
There was approximately 1 foot of new snow.  This was the most we had seen this season.

We will give it another try next [Sunday, March 19].

Nancy
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Date: March 5, 2006
From: Nancy Cox

We had another impressive day today.  We banded 19 more Rosy-Finches (12 Blacks, 4 Brown-capped, and 3 Gray-crowned - including the 5th Hepburn's!).  We had 63 repeats (50 Blacks, 7 Brown-capped and 6 Gray-crowned).  We have finally had a previous year repeat of a Black Rosy-Finch.  It was one that Ryan banded on March 20, 2005.
Now that we have banded the 5th Hepburn's, it will be very interesting to see if there are any more unbanded Hepburn's.  I hope people will try to notice if the Hepburns are banded.

Our grand total for Rosy-Finches banded in the winter 2005-2006 is 290!  We have banded 215 Blacks, 43 Brown-capped and 32 Gray-crowned.
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From AZ/NM RBA:, a report of Red Crossbills, which have been very scarce this winter in the Sandias, and a Sage Thrasher at Tres Pistoles (we saw the Curve-billed Thrasher there last week but not the Sage) , along with a link to photos of the Yellow Grosbeak still being seen in Albuquerque:

Date:    Feb 27, 2006
From:    Magill Weber, Phoenix, AZ
Subject: Yellow Grosbeak/Rosy Finches (NM)

Matt Toomey, Oliver Niehuis and I had most of our target birds this weekend in the Albuquerque (NM) area.  The previously reported YELLOW GROSBEAK was  present on Saturday 2/25, from about 10am until around 11:30, at the continuing location on Las Lomas near UNM.  The owners are exceptionally  hospitable.  They will continue to post the bird's last known whereabouts on  the front door.  There is an alley behind the house which provides limited  views of the feeders.  Areas in front of the house also have partial views
of the feeders.  The owners report that the bird has been regular between  8-10am, and again in the late afternoons around 4pm, and has been present  every day since about February 16th.

We headed up to Cedar Crest both Saturday and Sunday, where we had all three  ROSY-FINCHES, including at least one Hepburn's race.  Blacks are by far the  most common, and flock sizes were around 40-50 birds at any one time.  No reports of any winter finches on the mountain.  We had a pair of RED CROSSBILLS and one PINE SISKIN near the 10k Parking Area, but no others.  We sorted through many Hairy Woodpeckers for the Three-toed Woodpecker previously reported in the area, without success.  We also tried for owls at
all the parking areas between about 9-10:30pm, but were not successful in locating any owls.  (Others reported Northern Saw Whets from the turn-off just below the Sandia Ski Area.)

On the 39 Gun Springs trail, at Exit 170 off I-40, we had Scaled Quail, Sage Thrasher, and Juniper titmouse, as well as dozen and dozens of Western Bluebirds.

Rio grande Nature Center offered all the common winter species as well as a White-throated Sparrow, and a huge number of Wood Ducks.

Photos of the Grosbeak, Rosy finches, and others are posted at: www.badger.smugmug.com --> New Bird Pics
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Date: February 25, 2006
From: Nancy S. Cox

Hi All,

We are still catching Rosy-Finches.  Today the crew banded 6 more Brown-capped and 9 Black Rosy-Finches.  The new totals are 203 Blacks, 39 Brown-capped, and 29 Gray-crowned for a grand total of 271 Rosy-Finches for the winter 2005-2006.
There were 57 repeats (45 Blacks, 11 Brown-capped and 1 Gray-crowned).  Two of the Brown-capped repeats were originally banded in December 2004.  They are not the same two Brown-capped repeats that we had earlier this year.  That makes it a total of 4 Brown-capped repeats from 2004.
Thanks team.

Nancy
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Date: February 19, 2006
From: Nancy Cox

We were all excited to see the snow yesterday.  There was not as much as we were hoping for but we still had a great day today.  We had 45 repeats (36 Blacks, 5 Brown-capped and 4 Gray-crowned) and 25 new birds (16 Blacks, 5 Brown-capped and 4 Gray-crowned).  We caught a 4th Hepburn's and then were amazed when we found out that there is still one more unbanded Hepburn's.

[This brings  the grand total of newly banded rosy-finches to 256 this winter (194  Blacks, 33 Brown-capped and 29 Gray-crowned). Ken]. 
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Date:    Mon, 13 Feb 2006 21:36:18 EST
From:    Matt Victoria [Excerpted from AZ/NM RBA]
 
Greetings!   I arrived at 11:00am on Sunday in Albuquerque, and promptly drove up to Sandia Crest.  At the Crest House Feeders, I had about 100 ROSY  FINCHES, mostly Black.  I got great photos of all three Rosy Finches, including  a fully gray-headed HEPBURN'S type.  Other Birds at the Crest House included  Red-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee, Stellars Jay, and 3 races of the  Dark-eyed Junco.  I followed the mile-by-mile guide to Birding up the mountain,  but succeeded only in finding many large flocks of Robins.  At Elaine's B&B, I  observed my Lifer JUNIPER TITMOUSE, as well as Canyon and Spotted Towhees...

[We just missed seeing you, Matt. During our visit to New Mexico February 13-16, we too stayed at Elaine's and enjoyed seeing (from the windows of her B&B) our greatly missed Dark-eyed Juncos, Canyon and Spotted Towhees, Pine Siskins, Steller's and Western Scrub Jays, White-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadees, Juniper Titmouse, Western Bluebirds and even one Hermit Thrush and numerous American Robins, none of which species graces our South Florida landscape. We were surprised to see White-winged Doves visiting the feeders. Only two years ago they were quite rare in the East Sandia Mountains. At Crest House on February 14, we met Eileen Beaulieu, Ryan's wonderful mother. A birding group from Illinois came in and they were treated to almost continuous presence of all three Rosy-Finch species, including at least two Coastal (Hepburn's) race, one of which was in deeply chestnut adult plumage,  In late winter it is not unusual for the birds to break down into smaller groups that visit the feeders more frequently. The lack of snow cover was remarkable, the driest we have ever seen in mid-February.  Coincidentally, on February 12 there were articles about the NM Rosies in both the Albuquerque Journal and the South Bend (Indiana) Tribune, and we understand that WildBird has an article about Sandia Crest in the current issue, though we have not seen it (if someone can provide a link we would  greatly appreciate it).  Ken and Mary Lou]
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Date: February 6, 2006
From: Nancy & Steve Cox

We banded 10 more Rosy-Finches at the Crest this past Sunday.  There were 8 Blacks and 1 each of the Brown-capped and Gray-crowned.  Our totals now for the 2005-2006 season are 178 Blacks, 28 Brown-capped and 25 Gray-crowned for a grand total of 231 Rosy-Finches banded for the 2005-2006 season.

We also had 16 recaptures from the 2005-2006 season.  They consisted of 11 Blacks, 4 Brown-capped, and 1 Gray-crowned.  We did see at least one banded Hepburn's (Gray-crowned).

We also should remind you that we won't be banding at the Crest next week-end.  Our next banding date for the Crest will be on Feb 19.  With the lack of snow we wonder and  hope that the Rosy-Finches will still be around.
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Date: January 28, 2006
From: Nancy & Steve Cox

We banded 27 new Rosy-Finches today (16 Blacks, 7 Brown-capped and 4 Gray-crowned).  This brings our total for the 2005-2006 winter season to 221 banded Rosy-Finches (170 Blacks, 27 Brown-capped and 24 Gray-crowned).

We did see the unbanded Hepburn's again today.  We have banded 3 so far this season.  Today we also recaptured 31 birds from this season (24 Blacks, 6 Brown-capped and 1 Gray-crowned).
Our best bird today was a repeat Brown-capped female that we originally banded on December 5, 2004, as a hatch year female.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped with this project including those (Steve Fettig) who got to see the Yellow Grosbeak before they came up to help capture a large percent of the Rosy-Finches. [For Jerry Oldenettel's and Laurel Ladwig's photos of the Yellow Grosbeak in Albuquerque, see:
<http://hometown.aol.com/borealowl/> and  <http://www.unm.edu/~pbgrebe/YellowGrosbeak/>]

Kudos to Raymond for getting birds in all three traps at the same time.  He was in charge of all 3 controllers and managed to get more than a dozen birds at once.
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Date: January 22, 2006
From: Nancy & Steve Cox

We had an abbreviated banding day today and only banded up to 11 a.m.  During that time we banded 13 new Rosy-Finches (8 Blacks, 4 Brown-capped and 1 Gray-crowned).  This brings our total for the 2005-2006 winter season to a total of 194 banded Rosy-Finches (154 Blacks, 20 Brown-capped and 20 Gray-crowned).
We did see a unbanded Hepburn's today.  We have banded 3 so far this season.  Today we also recaptured 11 birds from this season (9 Blacks, 1 Brown-capped and 1 Gray-crowned).

At 9:40 we got word that a Yellow Grosbeak was being seen in the North Valley of Albuquerque.  We decided to close down early to try to see this bird.  Unfortunately, it was not seen after 10:00 am.  Many of us will be trying for the grosbeak again tomorrow.
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Date: January 19, 2006
From: Matt Victoria

I will be traveling to Albuquerque 12 FEB-16 FEB 2006. I have booked one night at Elaine's B&B and the main purpose of my trip is to view the ROSY FINCHES atop Sandia Crest at the Crest House's feeders. Once I have completed my visit to Sandia, I will have several days to wander aimlessly throughout your State. Thus, I would much appreciate information for finding the following species:

 CASSIN'S FINCH
 PINYON JAY
 AMERICAN DIPPER

I have the NM Birdfinding Guide, and carefully read each NM RBA. I was hoping to ascertain multiple locations where I could look for each  target species, if possible...

[Matt,  We also will be visiting NM and staying at Elaine's B&B the nights of February 13-15, so please look us up.

Some years they are too numerous to count, but Cassin's Finches (as well as Red Crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks) have been almost totally a no-show in the Albuquerque area so far this winter.  Pinyon Jays can be very erratic unless there is a good crop of ripe Piñon Pine nuts.  For both birds, do keep monitoring the NM RBA as you plan to do, and visit any recent haunts.  Dippers have rarely been seen-- a few years ago one wintered at Bosque del Apache. Am copying this to Pat Snider, who manages the RBA, in case she can add any more suggestions; also to Celestyn Brozek, who birds the area intensively.

We often found Pinyon Jays in the Manzano-Four Hills Open Space.  This area is along the east margin of the Four Hills Subdivision in SE Albuquerque.  Take Tramway Boulevard south from I-40 past Smith's supermarket, curving to the left (east) to the "T" intersection with Four Hills Road SE.  Go south on Four Hills Rd 0.5 mile to the "Y" where it meets Stagecoach Road SE.  Follow Stagecoach to the left (east) about another 0.4 miles, where it turns to the right (south).  From this point to the end of Stagecoach road there are a number of dead end streets to the left, one or two of which have marked trail heads.  There are Piñon Pines and exotic conifers (which sometimes have seed when the natives do not) in the back yards along the street, as well as Piñons in the savannah to the east (the open space extends toward the Manzanito Mountain foothills and Kirtland Air Force Base).  We often found Western and Mountain Bluebirds, as well as raptors there in the winter.

You may see flocks of Pinyon Jays in the Albuquerque Foothills, the open space area that is east of Tramway and west of the Sandia Mountains, i.e., that stretch of Tramway north of I-40.  There are trail heads at the east end of Indian School Road [and other crossing streets, up to Elena Gallegos Park].  Here is a link to the Albuquerque Open Spaces that includes maps:

<http://www.cabq.gov/openspace/lands.html>

Please let us know if you have any questions.  We are leaving for Costa Rica and Panama in the morning, but will be back in contact February 3.

Good luck and hope to see you at Elaine's or at Sandia Crest.  Ken & Mary Lou]
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The researchers had another good day of banding, bringing their total up to 181 new captures  plus 18 same-season recaptures and one from last winter.

Date: January 15, 2005
From: Steve and Nancy Cox, Rio Grande Bird Research

We were able to band at the Crest House today.   We banded 41 more birds, so we are up to 181 banded Rosy-Finches for the winter 2005-2006.  The Black Rosy-Finches are by far the most common. To date this season we have banded 146, 19 Gray-crowned and 16 Brown-capped.  Today we had 11 repeats (9 Blacks, 2 Brown-capped) all from this same season

Of the Gray-crowned, we have banded 3 Hepburn's this winter.  Michael Hilchey even saw another Hepburn's that was not banded, so there are at least 4 Hepburn's up at the Crest House this winter.

Nancy & Steve
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David Scott enjoyed excellent viewing without ever entering the Crest House, which does not open until 9:30 AM.  We have entered his observations in the log book.

Date: January 9, 2006
From: David Scott, College Station, TX
 
I spent this past Saturday morning (1/7), from about 7:30-9:15, looking for rosy-finches at Sandia Crest. A few mixed flocks were using the north [sic-- south] and east feeders. The largest flock included about 80 birds. I would estimate about 50 birds were Black Rosy-Finches, 15 were Brown-capped rosy-finches, and 15 were Gray-crowned rosy finches. I spent my time entirely outside because the shop was closed. I left town before it opened so I did not have a chance to log my sighting into the log book.

Thanks for the feeders and sharing the information about the rosy-finches at Sandia Crest. All three were life birds for me.
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Nancy and Steve Cox newly banded 9 more rosy-finches on Christmas Eve, bringing their cumulative total to 147, plus 8 same-season recaptures. The low recapture rate indicates that a surprisingly high number of birds are visiting the feeders.
 
Date: December 24, 2005
From: Nancy & Steve Cox

We managed to capture and band 7 Blacks and 2 Brown-capped Rosy-Finches.  The Blacks were all males and 4 were adults, 3 hatch years.  We had both male and female Brown-capped.  The male was an adult and the female was a hatch year.  We also recaptured one same season Black Rosy-Finch.

We were on a shortened schedule today, as the Crest House was closing at noon for the Christmas holiday.  There were a lot of Rosy-Finches around today.  We saw flocks of about 100 birds, mostly Blacks.  There is at least one unbanded Hepburn's still and we have banded 2 already this year.

We couldn't resist capturing and banding a Steller's Jay.  It seemed that the Steller's were too smart as they been alluding our traps for several years.  We also banded a Gray-headed Junco that when it was in the trap appeared to be of the dorsalis subspecies (or as Sibley calls it the red-backed).  It had a bi-colored bill but no rufous in the wings.

We were glad of all these birds since there is no new snow at the Crest.  We look forward to the new year and hopefully new snow. Merry Christmas to all.

Nancy & Steve
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Andy Jenkusky plans a return to New Mexico (Remember that the Sandia Peak Tram does not go to the Crest House, where the rosy-finch feeders are located.):

Date: December 21, 2005
From: Andy Jenkusky, Clifton, New Jersey

Hi All,
Found your site by chance, lucky me. My bird contacts are not as great as yours. I feed the local crew of Sparrows, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mocking Birds, Chicadees and a giant Woodpecker.  I go for about eighty pounds of seed, for the Winter, in two feeders. We have a problem with Hawks. They keep tabs on the feeders and raid them once in awhile, getting a bird or two. Mostly they get a Dove.

My eyes perked up when I viewed your pics of the local mountains. My mother lived in Rio Rancho NM until 1989 and I was a frequent visitor. I fell in love with your state and wish to return some day. The pics took me back down memory lane, I thank you for that. We took the "TRAM" to the top of the Sandia's and had dinner at the restaurant up top. I put your site in my "favorites" so I can enjoy it over again. Thank you for making my day.
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Dan Sanders is traveling the country,  reaching for a record number of species during this calendar year.  We linked hime up with several expert NM birders for advice about finding Harris's Sparrow.  Celestyn Brozek was able to pinpoint the location of one at Bosque del Apache.  After picking up all three rosy-finch species as well as the sparrow, Dan proceeded to California at a breakneck pace, seeing the Baikal Teal and a Bullock's Oriole.  He copied us his report to Celestyn: 

Date: December 15, 2005
From: Dan Sanders, Columbus, OH

Hello Celestyn,
Thanks for sending along this updated information! I flew into Albuquerque on 12/12 and on the morning of 12/13 drove up to Sandia Crest (about 4 inches of new snow) and after a couple of hours, saw all 3 species of Rosy Finches. I then drove down to Bosque del Apache and found the Harris's Sparrow after about an hour's search. It was with a fairly large number of White-crowneds near the water drip at Quail Pond. From there I drove most of the night at arrived at the Baikal Teal location, north of Santa Barbara, CA, at about 9:30 AM. The teal had been seen before I arrived, but then "disappeared". About two hours later, we found it resting on the bank in the very last pond which is triangular in shape. After a long wait, a crow flew down and spooked the resting group into the water for much better looks. From here, back to LA where I arrived at the West LA
University for Bullock's Oriole... 
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We do not solicit money donations because the Crest House is a commercial establishmanent and is unable to accept them.  We appreciate donations of seed (hull-less patio mix, which is used exclusively for the deck feeders, or black oil sunflower seed that  can supplement the seed at the lower feeders).  Seed may be left at the USFS Visitors Center just inside the entrance to the Crest House.  Money donations may be made to Central New Mexico Audubon Society in memory of Ryan Beaulieu, to support rosy-finch research. 

Date: December 15, 2005
From: Dave Weaver (Coordinator of Rosy-Finch Feeding Project)

Hi Ken,

A good day at the Crest yesterday, with about 4 inches of new snow on Monday and lots of flocking rosy finches.  The new feeders are working out well, it seems.  I have attached a Log Update, which I hope is okay.  As always, if I need to change anything, just let me know.

One other thing... a fellow named Bob Pease, of Albuquerque, donated $20.00 for seed yesterday.  We will just pass it along to Lee Hopwood [AlbuquerqueWild Bird Center]  to help defray her costs, but I thought you might want to acknowledge him on the website (if it is within policy to do so, of course).

Best wishes to you and your family for the Holiday season!

Dave 

[Thanks, Bob, for the donation. Dave has seen that it will be used to purchase more seed. Ken] 
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As of December 11, Rio Grande Bird Research had newly banded 138 rosy-finches at Sandia Crest this winter.  Here is Nancy and Steve Cox's report:

Date: December 11, 2005
From: Nancy and Steve Cox

Despite the fact that there has not been any fresh snow at the crest for quite a while, we had another great day of Rosy-Finch banding.  We banded 5 Brown-capped, 11 Gray-crowned (2 of which were Hepburn's) and 43 Blacks.  We half expected to have a repeat of last Sunday (total of 2 new birds and 1 repeat).  Carol even brought her Venezuela Field Guide to study.  Needless to say she did not get much studying accomplished.

We had 6 recaptures (same season)...

We have put the numbers of Rosy-Finches in a capture/recapture formula.  It comes up with a population size estimate of 660 birds with a standard error of 220.  That is a lot of Rosy-Finches!  Even on the low end 440 Rosy-Finches are a lot of birds.
==================

We had an interesting exchange of e-mails with University of Wyoming researcher David McDonald, concerning the classification of the North American rosy-finch species. How clear is the consensus that they are three separate species?  Might the distinctive coastal races (Hepburn's and the large Pribiloff race) be split out as one or more separate species?

From: Ken Schneider 
Date: December 9, 2005
To: David McDonald (University of Wyoming)
Subject: *Rosy-Finch speciation

Dave,

We keep a Web site on the Rosy-Finches at Sandia Crest in New Mexico. I have had a couple of queries about whether there may be changes in ABA species designation for the North American group. I know you have done some DNA studies on Black Rosy-Finches, but cannot find anything since the piece in National Geographic in 2004. Can you provide me with any updated information?...

Ken
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David B. McDonald wrote (December 9, 2005):
Ken:

I am not really all that close to publishing anything on the rosies. The person who might be, Sergei Drovetski, does not seem to moving at all fast on that front. His push would be to have them all lumped back into a single species the Rosy-Finch. I’m not so sure that is warranted but do not have strong evidence to back that, at least not yet.

I confess I wasn’t aware that anything I had done was covered in Natl Geo (except, briefly on their website perhaps). If you saw something in the magazine and know an issue/page, I would be grateful.

Might you be willing to take any blood samples? I could give you good instructions and send you the necessary kit. If you ever get any non-self recaptures I would love to hear about it. They just might be our birds.

Cheers, Dave McDonald
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Ken Schneider wrote (December 9, 2005):

David,

Here is the link to the Natl Geo article on the U of Wyoming rosy-finch research:
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0824_040824_rosyfinch.html>

I found the report of your rosy-finch DNA work to be very interesting. Blood sampling would add a level of complexity and stress, under sometimes harsh weather conditions.

I have moved from New Mexico to Florida. The banding at Sandia Crest, NM is carried out by Steve and Nancy Cox of Rio Grande Bird Research. They had no recaptures among the 70+ Blacks they banded in the last two weeks, and have not had any remote recaptures since starting the project, so far as I know. I am copying them with this reply and your note... Am also copying Scott Rashid, who bands Rosies in Estes Park, CO, for his information. I ask them to answer you directly and copy me for my information.

Some day I would love to see a gathering of rosy-finch researchers. I was hoping it could take place at or near Sandia Crest, as it is so easy to get to. As the New Mexico banding project matures (it is on a 5 year plan, I believe) there may be some interesting information to share. Sandia Crest and Estes Park both capture all three species most winters.

Ken
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Nancy Cox wrote (December 10, 2005):

Hi Ken,

Thank you for sending that link for the National Geographic article on the Rosy-Finches.  It is strange to see the researcher named Ryan knowing that they are not referring to our Ryan.

We are working in coordination with Blair Wolf, a professor at the University of NM, on hydrogen isotopes.  This will hopefully allow us to know where an individual bird comes from latitudinally.  We don't have to collect blood for this analysis (we are not currently permitted to draw blood). Our Ryan and Raymond had been looking at the average distance traveled per species and comparing it to the age ratio.  It was looking very interesting.  The hydrogen isotope information should help analyze this data more accurately.

We belong to the Western Bird Banding Association (WBBA) and we just recently received a compilation from them showing the results for many other banders throughout the West who report their raw data to the WBBA.  They highlight the high banders (top 3) per species.  In the year 2004, we were high in many species but most exciting of all was that we were in the top for all 3 Rosy-Finch species.  Of course not many people are banding Rosy-Finches and Scott Rashid had many more than we did of the Gray-crowned and Brown-capped Rosy-Finches.  We are all excited to see the results for 2005.

Nancy
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Scott Rashid conducts banding of rosy-finches in Estes Park, Colorado. As in prior years, we are interested in comparing his numbers and species. At Sandia Crest, the Black Rosy-Finches usually appear earliest in the season, and the Brown-capped can be rare.  Two years ago they were  apparently absent the entire winter.
 
Date: December 5, 2005
From: Scott Rashid, Estes Park, CO

 Hi Ken,

 I haven't had too many days of rosy finch banding so far, because we have had a Northern Shrike here everytime the finches come around.   I have only banded 12 so far, but I plan to band a  lot more as the winter progresses. I did have one recapture from this past spring.

...This time of year, most our birds are still Brown-caps, then Gray Crowns and finally Blacks.  In a few weeks, the birds will be mostly Gray-crowns and blacks with almost no brown caps, then in March it will revert back to mostly Bown caps again.
 ==================

Nancy Cox , who supervises the Rosy-Finch banding at Sandia Crest reports on a record day (November 27, 2005):

We had an awesome day of banding at the Sandia Crest today.  The Rosy-Finches did not give us much of a break.  We had banded 69 by 1:45.  We decided that we couldn't stop there so 1/2 hour later we caught #70.  It was our best single day of banding up at the Crest House.  We banded a total of 65 Black Rosy-Finches, 5 Gray-crowned and 1 Brown-capped.  We only had one same day repeat, which means there could be hundreds of Rosy-Finches.  We were a little disappointed in that we did not have any previous year recaptures, even though Raymond did see one banded Rosy-Finch before we started.

Lee and Nicki put up the new feeders in Ryan's honor with Michael Hilchey's help.  The plaques on the feeders are very beautiful.  I encourage those who weren't there today to come up and see them.  We all felt both Ryan's absence but also his presence.  There was fresh snow and lots of Rosy-Finches swirling around.  We also had many of  Ryan's friends and family.

Thanks everyone for your help today.  As soon as Raymond approves the proposed schedule for the Crest banding we will send it out.
 ==================

Nancy followed up with these observations (November 27, 2005):

I wanted to add a few more details about today.

Lee [Hopwood, an owner of Albuquerque Wild Bird Center] finally got a chance to show she could help with the traps.  She was able to push the button and have the trap doors close.  She had wanted to pull the string last season but the birds didn't cooperate then.  The new traps worked well except for one time when Michael was trying to close them.  Of course there were close to 8 birds in the traps at the time.  He was able to get the traps to work later.  Michael, Lee and Raymond got lots of practice getting birds out of the traps.

Michael also got more practice banding.  He has just started the banding process but did well.  We had so many birds his help was much appreciated. Mary also got more practice banding.  She has been trained by Steve Fettig.  She also helped get bands ready for everyone else. Laurel was amazing; recording for 4 (or were there 5) banders at once and getting photos all at the same time.  Raymond and Steve got to help the rest of us remember how to age and sex the birds.

Thanks again team.

Ken, we saw the book you put together of the common birds.  It looks great.  [This little book, which includes pictures and information about common visitors to the feeders at Sandia Crest House, was produced by Ken using the WhatBird.com MAKE-A-GUIDE feature].

http://www.whatbird.com/

Laurel is going to work on getting a poster made with many of the same birds.  It will just concentrate on photos of the birds.  She did such a wonderful job with Ryan's poster.  Ryan's poster is now up higher in the window (thanks to Beth).  It was hard to see the traps where it was.

Nancy

I told Nancy that  I  wondered whether hatch-year birds appeared earlier and in greater numbers.  Ryan noted there were many "Buffies," as he called them, especially seen early in the winter season.  We thought maybe they were juvenile Blacks that looked like Brown-capped.  When we looked closely, the feathers were actually almost black but had brown tips, and their crowns were indistinct but present.  I asked Nancy whether this field observation bears out in hand.  Did hatch-year birds predominate today?  It will be interesting to see if recaptures pick up later in the winter.  Ken
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Nancy's reply (November 27, 2005): 

Hi Ken,
We had a good mixture of ages today.  I have not tallied them yet but we did have several adults.   I think though that the majority were hatch years.  [Subsequently, Nancy sent this breakout: Brown-capped 1 adult; Gray-crowned 2 adults 2 hatch years; Black 42 adults 23 hatch years.]   We also had several that we had to look at twice just to be sure of the species.  We do a lot of banding but the Rosy-Finch complex has to be the most difficult ones with the exception of the Empidonax flycatchers.

Usually we get more time to look at the birds to ID them in the trees before they go to the feeders.  Today they went straight down to the feeders/traps.  It was overwhelming.

Dana, Ryan's dad, was up today with his fiancée.  They said that even though today was hard for them he was glad to be there.  Dana says he goes to your web site all the time.  Thank you again from all of us.

Nancy

Nancy and Steve Cox also sent us the eulogies they had given for Ryan at his memorial service.  They are now posted on Ryan Beaulieu's  Memoral Page.
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Mary and Ray Reed write (November 26, 2005):

Ken & Mary Lou ---
Your pioneering work with the Rosy Finches at the Crest is appreciated by multitudes Sorry you are not here to share in the fun.  We imagine that you miss wading in hip-deep snow to tend the feeders.

Report: Saturday, November 26, 2005, 9:30 am to 11:00 am, Locally overcast, low to mid-40s, very brisk breeze, no snow yet.   Several periodic visits of mixed flocks of Black, Gray-crowned, and Brown-capped Rosy Finches.  Predominantly Black variety with fewer than a half dozen Gray and Brown-capped individuals. Also, the usual Stellers Jay, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Chickadees.

Independent flocks of a half dozen, fifteen to twenty, and as many as forty Rosy Finches fed at both the Upper feeder and the Deck feeder.  (Raymond had not yet installed the dditional (two) feeders.  The lower feeder appeared to have sunflower seeds (left from the previous day) and few Finch visitors.  The Deck feeder had a mix of hulled seeds, was completely emptied overnight, and was filled by the Crest House staff at 9:30 am.  Four pairs of birder visitors (One from Illinois, another from Georgia) as well as many others there for the scenery.  Gene Romero reported very heavy tourist business on Thanksgiving day, not there for the birds...

[Ray sent me some photos, which I will post-- Ken]

Cordially --- Mary and Ray Reed 
 ==================
Dale Ohl of Brewster County, TX writes (November 14, 2005):

I am in the Albuquerque area on business and took some free time to go up to Sandia Crest to try for the Black Rosy-Finch. I appreciate the personal help from pinyonjay and the www.rosyfinch.com website is great.  We arrived at the Crest House around 12:30 local time on Monday, November 14th.  It was very windy.  It took about 35 minutes before the finches arrived at the feeders. Once they arrived they came back within 10 minutes.   There were around 10 or so.  I had a hard time sorting them all out, and I guess they were all Black Rosy-Finches, but there were two that seemed larger with more white or gray on their head than the other ones.  I did not have a field guide with me and I am not familiar with rosy-finches at all, so if anyone else goes up to see them I would be interested to learn if they were all black rosy-finches or not.
Again, thanks to Pat for the help and I've had a great time birding in New Mexico.  The Rio Grande Nature Center was a treat, didn't see the Eurasian Widgeon, but enjoyed the variety of birds and the visitor center was very nice.  Bosque del Apache was great, except the wind was blowing  from the south too much to really get out and bird on Friday November 11th.  Hope to make it back to bird again soon in your beautiful state. 
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Patrick Santinello of Montauk, NY writes (March 30, 2005):
Hi Ken and Mary Lou,
I wanted to thank you for your dedication. I went to the Crest House this year for the first time and saw the three Finches in late January. It was a great experience...  It's a great thing they [those running the Crest House] are doing up there.
Thanks!
Thank you, Patrick.  The real credit goes to those who have taken over the project all this winter while we basked in the relative comfort of South Florida!
==================

Dave Weaver, Co-Coordinator of the Sandia Crest Rosy-Finch project with Fran Lusso, sends this note (March 30, 2005):
Hi Ken,
I went up to the Crest this morning, amidst yet another "promising" snowstorm.  My guess is that this one will add about 6+ inches at the top (to Gene's consternation and others' frustration - the entrance is indeed a tunnel).  The finches are still around, as I saw about 20, which are noted in the new log version that I have attached.  They do say they are seeing fewer birders these days, and I guess that might be because people know that the end of the season approaches.
There is a new stock of seed up there, thanks to Lee Hopwood of the WBC.  She has promised that if this delivery is not enough she will provide more as needed...  Hope all is well in Florida!  It is snowing here at the house as I write....
All the Best,
Dave
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Roger Tess wrote (March 27, 2005): 
On my way driving to WI for a taste of winter, I once again drove up to Sandia Crest.. Got there at 11ish & sat in the best seat in the house till 3. Several other birders came & went, but ANY Rosy Finch would have been welcomed with cheers from all!! Oh well, maybe next winter my luck will be better.  Thank you for the directions, but the next time, have those birds tied down, please... Roger Tess
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Nancy Cox's report on banding (March 20, 2005, the first day of Spring!):
Hi Ken,
We did have success this morning.  We banded 4 new Blacks and one each of the Gray-crowned and Brown-capped.  We also saw the banded Hepburn's.  It was very close to being in our trap.  We will be trying again on Easter Sunday if we hear that they are still around.  It was snowing as we left.
Nancy
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Al Kane had snow and Rosies!  He writes (March 19, 2005):
Wow, it took a long time on this Web to find this bird, until I came across your web site. I had the opportunity this morning to witness these very interesting birds. It was snowing up on the crest and we were among a crowd standing inside the crest house waiting on these, until out of no where they appeared. I had the camera and got some photos although the steamed up windows didn't really help but with editing they didn't turn out to bad. I would like to thank you for having such a resourceful site to learn about this bird species.   Al Kane
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Nancy Cox (March 14, 2005) provides a report on the results of banding.  Her weather forecast was correct-- heavy snow began falling on the 15th:

Hi all,
We saw all three species of Rosy-Finches yesterday with a flock size of about 60.  They were not coming to the area as often as before but we did manage to band one more Black Rosy-Finch.  We saw them about every 1 1/2 hours.  We also recaught  another Black Rosy-Finch that we originally banded on 2-29-04.  That was probably our best bird for the morning.
We did catch a repeat Brown-capped that we banded originally on 12/27/04.  Gene Romero helped us catch that one.  We had not been seeing any Rosy-Finches for a while so we were just sitting back studying bird songs.  Gene walks up and tells us we had a rosy at the trap.  Sure enough, he was right and we were able to catch it.
The Rosy-Finches were actually singing when we first set up.  Gene also commented that he thought he had heard them singing in the morning before he was up and about.  Many of the Rosy-Finches, especially repeat from last winter, are getting dark bills also.  We have a photo of two Blacks showing the different bill colors.
We met Gene's boss and thanked him for allowing the feeders to continue at the Crest House.  He said that Gene has been his best manager so far ...
Fran and David, the ones who keep the feeders full, both made it up to the Crest House.  It was good to finally meet them.
(We) will be able to go up to the Crest House again next Sunday to try to band more rosies.  We are hopeful that they will still be around especially with today's weather forecast.
Nancy
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Scott McIndoo writes (March 10, 2005):
Well, we called ahead to the crest house Wednesday morning, the 9th of March, and they said they had seen "one."  But when we got up there, they did not make an appearance.  We did, however, see a Cassin's Finch, a first for me, and a sharp-shinned hawk, so there was some excitement at the feeder.  Maybe it's time to take the waving flag off the website, or do you keep it up for the Cassin's?  Thanks for the great website.  I went up during some heavy weather a few Saturdays ago and got some great digital photos of Grey-crowned and Black Rosy-Finches, as well as the chickadees and nuthatches...
 Scott McIndoo

[Thanks for the report, Scott...   Glad you got to see the Cassin's Finches.]

If a day goes by without any sightings (someone reports a failure to observe the rosy-finches after approximately two hours, and there are no other sightings that day) we call it a "negative report."  We usually take down the waving flag after several consecutive days to one week of negative reports.  Small flocks often continue to appear a bit later, into the last half of the month, with stragglers into the last week of March or even early April.   As the next e-mail shows, persistence often pays off.  The birds were still there, and the banders planned to return the next few Sundays.
==================

Pat Snider also describes (on March 10, 2005) her observations just a bit later the same day:
Ken: I took an Arizona birder up yesterday morning and we had a few of the rosies coming in and out, maybe as many as 10 or 15.  Even saw some bands.  The road is clear and plowed, but I have never seen the kind of deep snow that is up there now!  Like WOW!!  It was a bit slippery walking in to the Crest House, but otherwise fine.  We had the usual mostly Blacks with one or two Gray-crowned and Brown-capped, oodles of Mt. Chickadees, and a few Cassin's.  A couple from Kansas was also there and added the finches and Cassin's to his list.  And I met Dave [Weaver], who came up to put feed out for the birds...
==================

Nancy Cox reported on banding activites at the Crest House on February 27th, 2005.  On the way up they heard the Northern Pygmy-owl at the lower ski lift parking lot and also heard a Pine Grosbeak:
We did have all three species of Rosy-Finches in a flock of about 60 individuals.  There were also at least 2 Hepburn's present since we saw one banded and one unbanded.  We banded 2 Brown-capped and 1 Black Rosy-Finch.  We had repeats of one Gray-crowned and two Blacks.  The repeats are from this winter.
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Dave Weaver writes (February 27, 2005):
There is a lot (a _lot_!!!) of snow up on the Crest now.  The road is passable, but above the Ski Area it is snow packed in many spots and icy in others.  The plows have done a pretty good job, but a prudent driver would proceed cautiously.

The builidng roof did collapse - over the sales area, right along the trough that runs the length of the building over the stairs down to Gene's quarters.  They were closed for one day, but have re-opened with all services available.  There is still a lot of work to do to restore the structural integrity of the roof, which is braced in spots.  Everyone up there is getting pretty tired of the snow!
==================

John Green reports seeing the Northern Pygmy-owl (February 21, 2005):
First of all, thanks again for your reports, and your additional information about the pygmy-owl.  With Ryan and Raymond's advice, I was able to see the owl on sunset on the 19th, and saw all the Rosy Finches that morning...

It appeared to me that the Crest House would have had little or NO BUSINESS that morning if not for the birders.  If there was any non-birder business, I did not notice it.  For that matter, my wife (who bought plenty in the shop) would not normally come birding.  She has a mild interest, but it took a nice spot, where we could watch birds in comfort to get her to come along.  Not to mention all the other nice scenery and nice places around the Sandias.  We brought business to other local shops, Elaine's Bed and Breakfast, and restaurants as well.  That small local area of New Mexico is about a thousand dollars richer for our two day visit.  ALL of my birding friends will eventually go to, they are jealous and excited.  And their non-birding spouses will want to go too!!!  Multiply that by the tens of thousands of birders who will someday want to see Rosy Finches at least once, and will learn that Crest House is THE PLACE to do it...
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Kimberly King-Wrenn sent these comments (February 21, 2005):
To all the good folks who make the rosy finch project happen, When I moved to New Mexico with my family two years ago, I was very excited to see many new species of birds. I soon learned about the finches at the Sandia Crest House and was very excited to make the drive up to see what I could see. It was a very busy winter with a new job, new house, etc.
but I finally made the drive in late winter.
      My daughter and I were so pleased with what we discovered! There were none of the potential crowds or parking problems. We viewed the feeders first from outside and then made our way inside. We found a spot at a window side table and I enjoyed finches, chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers while my daughter enjoyed hot chocolate and a snack. The sign-in log and bird field guides made us feel especially welcomed.It was an experience neither of us will ever forget. I saw my first rosy finches and my daughter saw her first snow!
      Since that day I have sent many a fellow birder to the Crest House. I have enjoyed swapping stories with others about what an amazingly wonderful experience the visit is, and what a one of a kind way it is to see a new life bird!
      I hope that all who are involved with the Rosy Finch Project, from the Crest House managers and staff, to the project volunteers and Forest Service officials know that their efforts are greatly appreciated. Thanks to all of you for your hospitality and dedication.
       Kim King-Wrenn
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Elaine O'Neill, proprieter of Elaine's Bed and Breakfast in Cedar Crest writes (February 20, 2005):
Dear Ken and Mary Lou:
I had guests all this week with nothing, but good things to say about their experience. Earlier this week [guest's name withheld by Ken] was here and I believe that he was one of the founders of the American Birding Assoc. and he was very pleased. My guests from last night not only got to see the rosy finches, but also the pygmy owl... I appreciate all you have done for everyone around here and for all of the birders you have helped to get life birds.
Elaine
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Bob Landry writes (February 20, 2005):
Ken,
I wanted to thank you again for the information you provided for my trip.  The weather on the first morning was perfect and I headed for Sandia Crest, with great concern however, since I don't like heights and haven't driven on snow in 25 years.  The road turned out to be great, with only a couple of small patches of well sanded snow higher up, and no exposed drop offs to jangle my nerves.  Between 9:30 and 11:30 I got three quick looks at flocks of Rosy-Finches and was able to see all three species.  I was surprised by the quick movements of the flocks and don't think that any stayed for more than a couple of minutes.  On the way back down, I stopped at all of the locations listed in the online guide but only managed to find a few ravens and a flock of juncos.  I spent the afternoon at the Rio Grande Nature Center and picked up Cackling Geese.  Unfortunately, three of my six days of birding were affected by rain to varying degrees and I was not able to locate either Pinyon Jays or Williamson Sapsucker although I saw just over 100 species for my trip.  I'm hoping to get back in late spring when things should be more active.
Best regards,
Bob
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Kip Miller of Michigan shares some interesting remarks about past and planned visits (February 19, 2005)
  ...I first visited the Crest House a several years ago with my Dad.  I enjoyed my lifer Black Rosy-Finch and he got a clean sweep all at once. We had a great time and greatly appreciated the hospitality of all involved.
 
I enjoyed it all so much in fact, that I organized a tour the following year (December, 2003) and returned to New Mexico with 14 participants and another leader. The chance to combine a visit to Bosque, etc. with the Sandia Mountains and the rosy-finches at the Crest House was a memorable experience for my group of folks from the Midwest. We encouraged our group to support the efforts at the Crest House by purchasing souvenirs and gifts, etc. In addition, we made a point of purchasing lunch for the group there.
 
I am now scheduled to return to New Mexico in two weeks with a small group. The primary motivation for this trip is to help a member of the group celebrate her recent 80th birthday with the chance to add a rosy-finch to her life list. A month or so ago her family suggested she do something out of the ordinary for her birthday - skydiving or hang gliding, etc. She said, "No, I'd like to go to Sandia Crest to see the Rosy-Finches!" So, I put together a quick, long weekend trip to New Mexico. We're all looking forward to it very much...
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Hans Spiecker writes (February 17, 2005):
Thanks for the great web site.  I just visited the Crest following your directions and saw all three species in abundance.  I took pictures and wonder if you are interested or could use them.  I am attaching a couple of samples.  [I] had a wonderful visit even  though it was hard to get up and down due to heavy snow.  I ate good food there and watched as a crew of young people captured and banded Rosy-Finches that day...I enjoyed meeting the banders and learning about their project.  The young guys are so excited about it that it excited me too.  And your site was instrumental in coming up to see the birds so if my pictures are helpful it is a very small payback, thanks.

[Hans, your stunning photos are now posted on our "Rosy Finch Photos" Web page.  Thanks so much! Ken]
==================

Nancy Cox's latest  report on banding (February 13, 2005):
Hi all,
Even though the road was icy in spots, we made it up to the Crest House where there was lots of fresh snow.  We could not open the deck door since there was so much snow on the deck.  Raymond VanBuskirk had to climb out through one of the windows to shovel the snow away for us.
All three species of Rosy-Finches were present as well as the banded Hepburn's.  We were not able to get the Hepburn's to enter the trap even though it landed on top of it.  We have not been able to confirm that it was the bird we banded last February.  We did recapture another Black Rosy-Finch that we originally banded in February 2004.  That is our fourth bird from last winter.  We also managed to band 3 more Rosy-Finches, one of each species.
We saw about 50 Rosy-Finches from 9 a.m. up until noon.  We did not see any between noon and 2.
We will try again on February 27th.
Nancy
==================

Nancy Cox reported sighting of 11 PINE GROSBEAKS (February  6, 2005):

On the drive up to the Crest House we saw 11 Pine Grosbeaks.  They were within 1/4 mile of the top.  Raymond had been anxiously looking for them for his year list.  He was very happy about seeing so many males and females.
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Nancy Cox saw a Pine Grosbeak near the Nine Mile Picnic Area.  She reports on banding activities at Sandia Crest (January 16, 2005):
 
We continued the Rosy-Finch banding project today.  We were able to see a flock of about 60 Rosy-Finches several times today even though they were very skittish.  We managed to band only one Brown-capped and one Gray-crowned.  We did see several banded birds of all three species but they did not settle down for very long.  We estimate that there were probably 60% Brown-capped, 30% Blacks and 10% Gray-crowned.  There was at least one Hepburn's in the flock.
Other species that we saw included one banded male Hairy Woodpecker, one Downy Woodpecker, Steller's Jay, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatch,  Gray-headed Junco, Cassin's Finches (we banded 2 males today and we had already banded one female in 2004), and Pine Siskins.  We did see one female Pine Grosbeak on the drive up to the Crest.  It was close to the 9-mile Picnic Area.

Our next day scheduled for banding up at the Crest is January 30th.   We are hoping for more snow before then.

Nancy
==================================

Joe Schelling, who has provided this novice "Web Master" with valuable technical assistance, sent this e-mail with a beautiful picture of a Black and a Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (January 14, 2005)

Hi, Ken,
            Well it took me about a month since I sent those webpage fixes to you to get up the mountain today.  Gorgeous and sunny; just chickadees and nuthatches on the feeders at first, followed by a Steller’s, but then this huge flock of rosy’s swirled in after zooming around the crest for a bit.  Makes me wonder why I never got up there for that before!  Took the attached pic from the snack bar (with my Pansonic Lumix DMC-FZ10 – and it’s cool 12X stabilized optical zoom).  Also signed the book as you suggested…right below Barry Zimmer of VENT (and the Crest wasn’t even on their itinerary).  Happy Birding!  Joe Schelling
===================================

Scott Rashid (whose art work graces the top of the ROSYFINCH  page) conducts banding in Estes Park, Colorado.  It would be interesting if one of his birds happens to show up at Sandia Crest!  His note: (January 13, 2005):

Hi Ken,
Just tallied up  my banding for 2004 and I have banded 639 Rosy finches  last year with over 569 being Brown-caps 44 being Gray-crowned and the rest Blacks.
Scott
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Nancy Cox reports on banding activities at Sandia Crest (December 30, 2004):
 
We tried again on the 29th of December to band Rosy-Finches but the wind was awful.  It was gusting to 50 mph and was consistently high.  We decided to try again today with the new snow.  I had to do other surveys this morning so we got a late start.  We set the traps up just before 11 a.m. and had birds in the traps a few minutes later.  It was the fastest we have been able to catch any birds up there.  We ended up banding another 18 Rosy-Finches.  The totals for this season now stand at 44 Brown-capped, 25 Blacks and 11 Gray-crowned for a total of 80 banded Rosy-Finches.  Last season (January - February 2004), we banded only 29 Rosy-Finches.

Today, we recaptured 33 Rosy-Finches that were banded this season.  We also recaught two more Black Rosy-Finches that we originally banded in January and February 2004.   That means we know of at least 3 birds that have returned.  At the beginning of December, we (Larry) also saw a banded Gray-crowned that we have not been able to confirm that we banded.

We recaught a Gray-headed Junco that we banded in January 2004.  We have only seen a few juncos up at the Crest this year so we were very excited to see one banded.

We managed to capture the female Cassin's Finch that we saw yesterday. It was seen at the feeder again an hour after we banded it.

Our next scheduled banding date is January 16.  The Crest House does not open until 9:30.  They let us in earlier and in exchange we sweep the floors and wipe down the tables.  Come join us after 9:30 and hope for more snow.

Nancy
=======================================

Cassin's Finches are being seen in the lower reaches of the Sandias and even down into southern New Mexico, but they are not being seen regularly at Sandia Crest.  Clark's Nutcracker has appeared singly and erratically.  Rebecca Gracey reports (December 28, 2004) that the Northern Pygmy-owl is still hanging around the parking lot at the base of the ski area.  She forwarded Nancy Cox's summary of the results of banding to date:

Steve [Cox] modified one of the new traps that we use at the Sandia Crest House yesterday and we put it in use today.  It was very successful.  We caught and banded 44 Rosy-Finches today.  We had 11 Blacks, 4 Gray-crowned, and 29 Brown-capped.  We also recaught 5 Rosy-Finches from this season.  Our totals for the season now stand at 19 Blacks, 10 Gray-crowned, and 33 Brown-capped.  We are estimating 100 to 150 Rosy-Finches are using the crest feeder.  However, it really is hard to estimate, as they come and go, but there seems to be several groups.

Our best news is that we recaught a Black Rosy-Finch that we originally banded last season on February 1, 2004!  We had seen at least three banded bird before we banded any this year and now we know for sure that one was our band.  We are all very happy with the new trap.
=======================================

Excerpts from New Jersey Audubon Society Reports and Sightings, New Mexico 2004 Trip Report,
For full report see: http://www.njaudubon.org/Travel/Reports/NewMexico04.html

November 14-20, 2004
     ...(W)e headed up to the snowy Sandia Mountains, climbing to over 10,000 feet to the summit.  From the comfort of the warm gift shop/deli there we got great views of a Steller’s Jay, Mountain Chickadees, Black Rosy-Finches, and Brown-capped Rosy Finches at point-blank range...
     ...Our last day of the tour was spent along the snowy road to Sandia Crest.  At Doc Long picnic area everyone had good looks at Abert’s Squirrels, with their black fur and white-striped tails.  Some of the group got a look at four Cassin’s Finches and some Pygmy Nuthatches.  A Townsend’s Solitaire was singing from atop a pine.  Without a doubt the day’s highlight was a Northern Pygmy-Owl that responded to my whistling.  The bird called, then flew by us like a bullet, and finally perched obligingly in a pine for several minutes.  If we didn’t see another bird that day it would still have been great.  More goodies awaited us at the summit, however.  Perhaps the icing on the cake was getting our third species of Rosy-Finch, the “Hepburn’s” race of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch at the feeders.  We stopped at a few places on our descent, enjoying the various habitats present at different elevations and ran into a nice flock of Mountain Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches.  The clouds even broke at a few places, giving us glimpses of the valley below.  As we were heading back to Albuquerque, Adam spotted a flock of 80 Pinyon Jays as they flew across the road—a great way to end our birding in beautiful New Mexico.

-Scott Barnes

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The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) visited on December 5th.  Click here for their interesting report.

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Fran Lusso writes (December 20, 2004):

...The Crest House has been busy with lots of birders...that [BIRDERS WORLD] article  just flushed everyone out of the woodwork.  Spoke to folks today who live in Alb but had no idea about the Rosies before the article.  There were some folks from California also.
Attached is the most current table of sightings up through 12/19/04. Might be some more entries for the 19th when we go back later in the week as there were several people camped out waiting/hoping for an afternoon display!
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In response to concerns expressed on the Arizona-New Mexico Rare Bird Alert listserver  about the possiblity of adverse effects of the banding operations on rosy-finch viewing at Sandia Crest,  Robert Munro replies (December 14, 2004):

I found that the banding that was occuring at the Crest House at Sandia Peak did not have much effect on the sightings of Rosy Finches. They tend to fall out into groups of pines directly outside the observation room. The banders are extremely courteous and welcoming to all the birders who want to finally list all three.(me)  It seemed like highway robbery to get all three species of Rosy Finches while sipping hot cocoa, sitting next to a fire and looking out huge windows at a 10,600+ view.
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On the same subject, the coordinator of the banding project, Ryan Beaulieu, reported (December 13, 2004):

 "We have had many people come up to look at the Rosy Finches while we have been banding.  What we actually do is lower the main deck feeder [to the floor of the deck] to attract the finches...  The finches still behave the same when we are banding than when we are not banding.  They come down in a huge swirling flock (of all three species this year) and filter down to the trees.  From the trees they filter down to the deck, usually one by one until the entire flock is on the deck surface in a feeding frenzy.  We usually only catch a few Rosy Finches per banding session."  Ryan goes on to say that the days that are extremely cloudy, snowy and cold are the days the finches seem to frequent the feeders most often.  "The sunny warm days, the finches find food else where and only come to the feeders a few times during the course of the day.  In other words, the birds are more active on days with bad weather."
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Pat Snider writes (November 21, 2004):
We have a first happy life lister.  Stuart White from McLean, VA flew over and added the GC and BC Rosies to his life list.  He also repoted there were "numerous" Cassin's Finches (female-plumage) at the feeders.
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Fran Lusso writes (November 20, 2004):
The birds and birders have been coming to the Crest in droves.  Almost every birder we talk to said they saw the Birder's World article and came up to see!  Should be a bumper crop of birders!
 
We continue to have small snow events so the Crest is staying pretty snowy.  More expected this weekend and early next week...
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On November 14, 2004, Fran Lusso wrote:
Hi Ken & Mary Lou,
We went up to the Crest today to restock feeders..couldn't go yesterday because of a snow storm!  The birds were there when we arrived and returned to the feeder and the trees several times in the hour or so we were there.  Two birders were there who seemed to know what they were looking at and we had them make the log book entry:  They said they saw a band on at least one of the Blacks.  Ryan [Beaulieu] and Raymond [Van Buskirk] and Matt [Baumann] will be banding starting 11/27 and then every other week for a while
 
11-14-05 11am  19 birds: 6 BC, 4 GC, 9 BK  Bruce Neville and Christopher Rustay,  Abq, NM.
 
There seem to be lots of Black rosies this year and every time we have seen a flock it looked to have all 3 species in it.
 
I've attached some photos I took on Wednesday morning 11-10-04.  The light was really good!

[Photos will be added to Photo Page]
 
Thanks,
Fran
Fran Lusso and Dave Weaver
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From Matt Baumann on November 11, 2004 to Fran Lusso:
Subject: RE: Sandia Crest Rosy-Finch Project

Hi Fran,
this is matt baumann, myself and raymond went up to the crest today thursday the 11th and found all 3 rosy finches. We had about 10 GC, 5 Blacks, and 1 BC. when we were leaving we had a male pine grosbeak west of the crest parking lot and about 1 mile up the road from the bernallio sign we had a flock of about 6. looks like its going to be a good year. let me know whenever you need some help. take care
 
 matt
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From Fran Lusso on November 10, 2004:

Hi Ken and Mary Lou,
The Rosy's are back!  The first sighting apparently was by the Crest House staff who said they saw them on Sunday 11/7/04.  They did not know which species.

Dave and I had several sightings today and there was one on Monday.  They are listed below.  We also saw several other birds, including many pine siskins.  All sightings were at the deck feeder.
 
11/8/04 14:22 2 GC 1 male/1 female sat on feeder for extended look.  Laurel Ladwig (?)  ABQ.
            Also Pine Siskins, Mt. Chickadee, Ravens, Stellar's Jay and red-brested nuthatch.
 
11/10/04 several sightings by Dave and me:
10:05  15-20 mostly GC, but did identify at least one BC at the deck feeder and in the trees.
10:30   5 GC 1 male/ 4 female at feeder
12:30   20-25 They looked to be mostly BK, but might have had some GC and certainly a few BC
1:00    10 GC
2:15    1 GC and 1 BK
We also saw pine siskins, juncos, both white and red breasted nuthatch, Stellar's Jays, and a hairy woodpecker.
 
It was an exciting day for bird watching!
 
We also spoke to Eugene VanArsdel who said he THOUGHT he saw Rosy's in a tree along the nature trail a week or two ago but could not be sure.  Sounds like we need to put the feeders out earlier next year, do you think?
 
Fran
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October 17, 2004
Dear Friends of the Sandia Crest Rosy Finch Project!

We are the new coordinators for the project since Ken and Mary Lou have moved to Florida.  We are very new to birding, but thought we could, with your help, manage the logistics of keeping this great project running.

Ken will continue to maintain the website, 1-800 number and be the 'Chief Advisor'!

We are getting ready to start up the season and wanted to get in touch with those of you who have been part of the project in the past and/or who have expressed an interest in being involved.

We are planning to install the feeders and put out the Sightings Log Book at the Crest the weekend of  November 6th.  At that point, we will begin stocking the feeders about 2 times a week, as needed.  As in past years, we plan to store a supply of both types of seed under the Visitor Center Desk at the Crest.  We will arrange with our generous donors to get resupplied as needed throughout the season.

We are usually at the Crest Visitor Center on Wednesdays as USFS volunteers.  But we WILL need volunteers  to fill in periodically and to go up routinely on Fridays or Saturdays to check and restock the seed in the feeders.  We know that several people have done this in the past and/or have volunteered to help out this season. We would ask anyone who is willing to help to send us an email stating what you might be able to do so we can coordinate the efforts, have some backups and avoid duplication.

Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you think would be interested!

Thank you for helping us to continue this project that Ken and Mary Lou Schneider and all the previous supporters have done so much work to establish!
 
Fran & Dave
 
Fran Lusso and Dave Weaver
Sandia Park, NM 87047
505-286-8899
250-6588 (cell - Fran)
250-3467 (cell - Dave)
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The Rosy-Finches have departed, but there is always great birding in the Sandias.  Here is a note that describes a Texas birder's visit to Capulin Spring (June 13, 2004):

Ken, we just got home from our trip out West and I wanted to give you a report on our stop at Capulin Spring.  I only had one evening free to bird, but I got to the spring a couple of hours before dark and had a great time watching the birds come to the spring to bathe.  I had a long list of birds that are common to the area, but are birds we don't get to see very often in Central Texas.  I started walking the road between the closed gate and the Snow Play Area shortly before dark until well after dark, but did not see or hear any Northern Pygmy-Owls.  I did get to see an interesting bird behavior that is probably pretty common, but is something I've never seen before.  I saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch flycatching repeatedly from an exposed perch.  I didn't know they did that.  After leaving the Snow Play Area, I went back to the spring in the hopes of hearing a Northern Pygmy-Owl there.  I again struck out on the Northern Pygmy-Owl, but I got my lifer Northern Saw-whet Owl instead!!  Almost immediately after I sat down, I heard two Northern Saw-whet Owls calling.  One sounded very close to the picnic table so I started walking toward the area he was calling from.  I saw something move in the dark and pointed my flashlight at a Northern Saw-whet Owl about 10 feet from me.  He was so close that I couldn't even use my binoculars.  I watched him for about 30 seconds and then turned off the flashlight and retreated.  He resumed calling as soon as I left the area.    I also heard a Flammulated Owl and Common Poorwills calling in the area.  I talked to a lady shortly before dark who told me that a Northern Pygmy-Owl was seen daily at the ski area during ski season.  We're going out West again in late July, so I may try that area next time.  I heard that you're moving to Florida soon, but if you see or hear a Northern Pygmy-Owl in the area before you leave, I would appreciate hearing the details.  Thanks again for sharing your information about this fantastic birding area.
 
Rich Damron
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Matt Rockmore of Pennsylvania had an eventful drive up the Crest Road under bad driving conditions.  A  Brown-capped Rosy-Finch is possibly visiting the feeders.  He writes (February 24, 2004):

Hi,
First of all, I wanted to thank you for your excellent web page.  I found it tremendously helpful in planning my trip up to Sandia Cresthouse.  My name is Matt Rockmore and I'm a graduate student (of Archaeology) at Penn State.  I was just in New Mexico for a long weekend with a group of other graduate students and arranged to take a rental minivan up to the top of the Sandia Crest (dropping off other students to ski along the way).  I only had the one chance, and it was an up and down day [February 21, 2004].  I slid off the road in the snow just below the ski park damaging the van.  Fortunately no one was hurt, but the van was thoroughly stuck.  Two hours and a new rental van later, I continued up to the top, arriving about 12:45.

The bad luck then took a turn for the better as a flock of 40-50 rosy-finches flew into feed at about 1 PM.  The majority (40+) were Black Rosy-Finches, but there were about 5 Gray-crowneds as well (including 1 Hepburn's - I couldn't ascertain whether or not it was banded).  There may have been a brown-capped in this flock, but if so, I couldn't isolate it.  What I believe to have been the same flock returned again at about 1:20.

A second, distinct flock came in at just past 2 PM.  This flock was smaller (about 30-35 birds) and of a different frequency of species.  This flock was about 50-50 Black and Gray-crowned (call it about 15 of each), including at least one Hepburn's (this one definitely banded).  I'm nearly certain there was also at least one brown-capped rosy-finch.  I'm hardly an expert (all 3 species were new for me), so there's a possibility I'm in error, but I'm fairly sure - and as another visitor had noted them in the previous day, I felt better about it.  I had to leave at around 2:30, so I couldn't stick around to see if they came back.

Apart from the rosy finches, the juncos predominated (at least 60 of them, almost all grey-headeds, with about 6 oregons and 2 pink-sideds), but there was also a Steller's Jay and a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers.  A Common Raven also flew over and more Steller's Jays, Mountain Chickadee and Red Crossbills were found farther down the mountain.  I'll be submitting my sightings to e-bird shortly, but thought you might appreciate a direct report.  Thanks again for your help.
Matt Rockmore
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Brown-capped Rosy-Finches were essentially absent the entire winter of 2003-2004.We discussed the situation with Scott Rashid in Estes Park, who usually sees them by the hundreds.  He wrote (2/17/04):

It it the same here.  I banded 14  rosy's in mid  January, but since then we have had zero.   Early last week we had 4 inches of snow yet my neighbor only saw 4 black rosy's and they were only at her feeder for about 2 minutes.  I saw my first pair of Cassin's Finches yesterday at work however, we have not had an Evening Grosbeak seen in central or  northern Colorado  since September.  We usually have at least a few evenings around each winter.  Our Pine Siskins just started to show back up about two weeks ago.
Scott

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Lisa Meacham and Jean Martin visited Tres Pistolas and provided this feedback (February 10, 2004).  We really enjoy hiking this area, especially in the spring when Scott's Oriole is there and wildflowers are in bloom.  You are invited to take a virtual tour of Tres Pistolas starting with this panoramic view that contains a link to more photos and information.

Ken,
Jean Martin and I (from Austin, TX) had only an hour and a half to hike in the Tres Pistoles wilderness area on 2/9/04, doing some birding there. What an absolutely magical place!!! I was stunned by the beauty of this wilderness area. The soft desert colors and many native plants, the many huge boulder formations (which must have fallen off of the mountains hundreds or thousands of years ago and been weathered into rounded shapes by wind and rain), combined with the backdrop of mountains, was just awe-inspiring. How I wish I lived closer so that I could hike here often. I am so thankful that this wonderful display of the best desert nature has to offer has been preserved for all to enjoy, and that it was not turned into a luxury housing development as had been planned. It's heartening to know that sometimes we humans do the right thing where nature is concerned...

I wish I could see that area in the spring, but I can't imagine it being move lovely in spring than it was yesterday!  I truly didn't know that the desert could be that gorgeous... Jean and I had a great time at Bosque del Apache Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.  I saw my life cinnamon teal there, and my life Western bluebird at Tres Pistoles.
Lisa Meacham

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Jerri Kerr of Plano, TX has several questions about a planned February visit.  She writes (January 28, 2004):

Greetings, Ken and Mary Lou, from north Texas!  I traded e-mails with you last January, Ken, before a friend and I came out to  Sandia Peak and saw the Rosy-Finches.  You were a great help to us then, and your wonderful website is providing good information  for my next trip.  I will be coming this year with six other folks from the Dallas/ Fort Worth area - one of them is a 15-year old girl who's a  birding-whiz!  We'll be driving up to the Crest House...

Besides the Rosy-Finches, a hoped-for bird for almost everyone will  be the Juniper Titmouse.  Last year, you suggested that I check the  trees along the lower part of the road up to Sandia Peak, and I did  get one bird along the fence at a place I think was called "Looney  Tunes".  I will check this area again, but thought I would ask if  you know of any very reliable locations for this bird this year.

I think last year you also suggested a place called "Tres Pistolas", and I have copied the directions from your website; I was not able  to make it there last time.

Another highly sought-after bird would be Evening Grosbeak.  I know from reading your website that they are irruptive and unpredictable;  we'll keep our fingers crossed!  And, of course, we'll hope that  little Pygmy Owl is sitting out as we drive up the road.

On your Backyard Checklist section, you mention a "Sandia Park"  where there might be ducks.  Would you be kind enough to send me  the directions to get to this park?

Thank you in advance for your help,

Jerri Kerr


Hi again, Jerri--

Hope the Brown-capped Rosy-Finches come in.  This is the first year they essentially failed to show up at Sandia Crest.

I think you saw the Juniper Titmouse along the first mile or so of the Crest road, near Tinkertown Museum.  They become most vocal, even in winter, in mid-morning.  Listen for their somewhat chickadee-like chatter, "ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch----."  They are extremely partial to pinyon-juniper woodland and savannah.  Tres Pistolas is another reliable spot for them, and possibly Rufous-crowned Sparrows...  

This has been a "Zero Evening Grosbeak Winter" so far.  Same goes for Cassin's Finch.  Last winter, both were abundant, and the grosbeaks stayed into May, overlapping for two weeks with Black-headed Grosbeaks at our yard feeders!

Sandia Park is the name of the village at the intersection of NM-14 and Frost Road/NM-536 (the Crest Road), not an actual park.  The pond is on the left (south) side of Crest Road before you reach Tinkertown (see the mile-by-mile Guide to the Crest Road).  It has not been productive since it was deepened, lined with rubber and surrounded with cobbles, and will probably be 100% frozen anyway.

The best chance of seeing the pygmy-owl is at dawn and dusk, especially in the parking lot across from the base of the ski area at about the 7 mile mark (directions in FAQ's).  Also look in roadside trees and on telephone wires along the Crest Road and NM-14 for this amazingly tiny owl that I thought looked, in profile from a distance,  like a "bluebird with a fur collar."

Good luck!  Do let me know how you do, and if you have any questions.  Ken

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Mary Lou Arthur led the Audubon Society Thursday birders to Crest House on January 15, a welcome snowy morning:

Hi, Mary Lou and Ken,
Thanks so much for leading the group today and helping with the identification of the finches. It was really a treat and everyone remarked what fun it was to learn the field marks, plus just seeing all those pretty birds! A great morning of birding! The chukar was fun, too!
Mary Lou

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David Cree of Peachtree City, GA is in a quandry about when to visit Sandia Crest this winter, as Rosy-Finch numbers have been down.  He writes (January 9, 2004):

Hi Ken:
Thanks for your Sandia Crest reports!  With the current trend at the crest as far as seeing all 3 species of finches, when would you suggest I fly to ABQ to have a reasonably good chance to see ALL 3 species????

Sounds like Black are a slam dunk, and the Gray-crowned are somewhat assured as well--- BUT, how often are the Brown (-capped) seen at the crest???  Every other day---once a week????   Just curious to know as a trip out there will be $400 plus rent car and hotel, etc!  So, I really need to make sure I have the best possible chance for all three before heading out on Delta!

Thanks
David Cree...

David,
We can only hope that we get some snow. None is forecast for the next week or longer.  Last winter we had fairly good early December snow, then a prolonged dry period until early February.  All three species were at the Crest all year.  Indeed, since 1999 there had rarely been a day between mid-December and early March when all three species were not present. This has been the worst year so far, with 30-50 Black but only 2-3 Gray-crowned and nearly no Brown-capped Rosy-Finches (2 on December 21, and a couple early in November).  On at least two days so far this winter, birders saw no Rosies at all!  I personally do not feel comfortable identifying first year birds as definite Brown-capped unless they are in a flock with older birds and some Gray-crowned immatures and females for comparison.

If you look at the chart at RosySightings.html you might generalize that mid to late February has been best for total numbers-- but this year has been different indeed!   If I were a gambler I would say that if it starts snowing at Sandia Crest by early February, a trip during the latter half of that month may be most productive.  One of my contacts, a bander in Estes Park CO (Scott Rashid) normally gets "thousands" of Rosy-Finches by late December but was "only" seeing about 200, mostly Brown-capped.  Then the heavy snows came around January 1st and he had 2,000-- here are quotes from his e-mails:
1/2/04:
It has been snowing today and we had several  rosyfinches  (about 250)  They were mostly Brown Capped with a few Gray crowns and only 2 Blacks.  I have only banded about 40 this winter, but it has been very warm and no snow until today.  I hope to band several tomorrow if the weather keeps up.

1/3/04
Today we have over 2000 Rosy's at the house.  All  three species.  I am getting several recaptures.  The oldest is 3 years.
So "you pay your money and you take your chances!"   Please let me know what/when you decide.  I will try to keep the Web site up to date.  We usually go up on Tuesdays and then can summarize the records in the log.  In between, we hope that Internet birders will keep us informed.

Ken

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Jane Crone (December 27, 2003) points out an identification problem that seems more problematic e