TUESDAY MORNING
 GUIDED BIRD WALKS IN THE SANDIAS

The Forest Service sponsors Tuesday morning guided bird walks May through October.
For information visit the Sandia Ranger Station, 11776 Highway 337, Tijeras, New Mexico 87059.
(Take Exit 175, go south on NM-337.  The station is about a half mile south, on the left).

Karen Boettcher, coordinator of the walks, wrote: The log at Capulin was excellent this year!  Many of the participants for the Tuesday a.m. walks have not been repeats and have also been beginning birders so we have gone to Capulin for alot of the Tuesday walks, and everyone is absolutely delighted with the place!  We have had just about everything you'd expect - hermit thrush, green-tailed towhee, red-breasted nuthatch, ruby-crowned kinglet, Virginia's warbler, band-tailed pigeon, junco, mountain chickadee, Steller's jay, Townsend's warbler, warbling vireo, plumbeous vireo, and more! [See Prior Year Reports Below]
ALSO: Check the Thursday Birders current schedule.. Also see: Fire Closure Information

Birding the Sandia Mountains East of Albuquerque
 Birding the Manzano and Manzanita Mountains
 Rosy-Finches at Sandia Crest
 Cedar Crest Back Yard Birds and Birding Calendar
Birding is a fascinating, exciting, challenging game.  It requires and encourages ever-growing skill.  It may involve us in great adventures and wide travel, sometimes in difficult terrain.Seeking new birds to check off on our life lists may draw us further into the lives of these birds, challenging us to learn more about their life cycles, their behaviors, and ecology; and as our ecological perspectives expand, we may be stimulated to become more involved in conservation work, to protect the habitats of the many species we enjoy. (Burton S. Guttman, Birding, February 2004)

CLICK HERE TO OBTAIN CHECK LIST FOR BIRD WALKS (MICROSOFT WORD FORMAT)
(RICH TEXT FORMAT)

  Sandia Ranger District Wednesday Bird Walk and Rosy-Finch programs receive
National "Eyes on Wildlife Viewing Sites" award (Full Text)


In the spring of 2004, the bird walks explored a variety of habitats to maximize diversity and number of species: 

May 5th      Three Gun Spring Trail (representative bird species: Scott’s Oriole, Curve-billed and Crissal Thrashers, Rufous-crowned Sparrow)
May 12th    South Crest Trail (representative bird species: Hepatic Tanager, Warbling Vireo, Canyon Wren)
May 19th    Otero Canyon (representative bird species: Gray Flycatcher, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Western Wood-pewee)
May 26th    Cienega Canyon Picnic Area (representative bird species: Grace’s Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo, Red-naped Sapsucker)
June 2nd     Capulin Spring Picnic Area (representative bird species: Dusky Flycatcher, Western Tanager, Band-tailed Pigeon)
June 9th      Sandia Crest (representative bird species: Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, House Wren, Green-tailed Towhee)
 
Call the Sandia District Ranger Station at 505-281-3304 for current bird walk schedule and more information or for directions to these locations.
  Also visit the Web site at http://www.rosyfinch.com
and link to "Birding the Sandias.”
HIGHLIGHTS, 2004 Spring Walks:
May 5, Tres Pistolas: 24 species seen.  Male Scott's Oriole appeared repeatedly.  Several Curve-billed Thrashers, Green-tailed Towhee and Scaled Quail.
May 12, South Crest Trail: 23 species (37 cumulative).  Great close-up views of Canyon Wren, singing vigorously.  Also singing Black-throated Gray Warbler, Western Wood-pewee, Plumbeous and Warbling Vireos, many White-winged Doves
May 19, Otero Canyon:  31 species (44 cumulative).  There was water in the creek near the trail head.  It attracted numerous birds, including Western Tanager, Cassin's Kingbird, Green-tailed Towhee, Western Wood-pewee, and Gray Flycatcher (which usually is found only by hikng in about a quarter mile). 
May 26, Cienega Canyon: 22 species (47 cumulative).  Quite cold (mid-50s) with intermittent showers, which kept the birds down.  Heard but never caught sight of Cordilleran Flycatcher (though we did observe a newly-constructed nest).   Had great views of Red-naped Sapsucker at nest hole.  Missed Grace's Warbler and Black-throated Gray Warbler-- in fact we heard very few birds singing under these conditions.  The company was wonderful, and we hope for greater things next week at Capulin Spring!
June 2, Capulin Spring: 36 species (61 cumulative), including those seen while we assembled at Doc Long and on the 10K trek after the "main event."  As the sun reached the tops of the trees at Doc Long, we saw several species we missed on the bad weather day last week at Cienega: Cordilleran Flycatcher (heard but not seen last week), Pygmy Nuthatch, Grace's Warbler (great views as they weaved their way through the tips of the Ponderosas).  At Capulin, we  first visited the Snow Play area, where Dusky Flycatchers eluded us.  For "dessert" we gathered at The Log.  Water flow has decreased considerably, which causes the birds to concentrate.  It was almost like cheating as we watched the parade of all the usual suspects: Western Tanager, Yellow-rumped, Virginia's and MacGillivray's Warblers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Pine Siskins, Hermit Thrushes, Green Towhee...  It was hard to break away!  Ken later proceeded to the 10K Trailhead (Click here and then scroll down for a Panoramic winter view of this spectacular location), where he found a pair of Dusky Flycatchers in the aspen sapling grove to the south of the Crest Road (this is uphill, or to the left as one ascends Crest Road).  Then he followed the trail downhill to the north, that borders the Crest Aspen clearcut and controlled burn of 2003.  This is a delightful new habitat-- while it yielded no Dusky Flycatchers, the emerging Aspen promise them in the next few years.  Western Bluebirds and Violet-green Swallows appeared to be nesting at the edges.  Fire-weakened Douglas-fir  and a few surviving Corkbark Fir and Englemann Spruce seemed to provide ideal habitat for the exterpitated American Three-toed Woodpecker, not seen in the Sandias for nearly 10 years now, and of course not present today. Next week will be the last Sandia walk for Ken and Mary Lou, who will soon relocate to Florida.
June 9, Sandia Crest: 29 species, 62 cumulative.  Before ascending to the Crest, we looked in vain for the Red-faced Warbler that had been reported at Doc Long the week before.  On the way up we encountered a Wild Turkey past mile post 13, which is above 10,000 feet and only about 1/4 mile from the summit.  This past winter a flock of 22 had been released at Balsam Glade (7.5 mile mark, 8,600 feet).  Staff at Crest House said they recently saw up to five birds along the road near that location, [and adults with young were subsequently seen along the 10K Trail in 2005].  Groups of half a dozen have appeared at and near the Paa-Ko Golf Course and in back yards along the lower reaches of the Crest Road.   At the Crest we got good views of both kinglets and the Green-tailed Towhee.      

2003 SUMMER BIRDS AT THREE DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS  ALONG THE SANDIA CREST ROAD (NM 536)


Ken and Mary Lou SEP 03Ken and Mary Lou Schneider led a the first series of 21 weekly Wednesday morning bird walks sponsored by the US Forest Service, to study the birds of three different habitats in east slope of the Sandias.  Beginning May 21, 2003 and continuing every Wednesday until October 9 (a Thursday that week) , these two hour walks successively explored the fir-spruce forested slopes of Sandia Crest (10,678'), the mixed conifers and meadow around Capulin Spring (8900'), and the piñon-juniper-Ponderosa woodland and riparian areas at Cienega Canyon Picnic Area (7400').   Though the walks missed the peak of spring migration, they picked up most of the expected fall neotropical migrants.

During our walks at these three locations (listed below) we identified a total of 66 species.  Yet we missed or saw very few of several bird species that breed in the piñon-juniper woodlands and savannas at slightly lower elevations.  These included  Western Bluebird (seen only once), Pinyon Jay (present once at Cienega), Bullock's Oriole (one seen at Cienega), and Blue Grosbeak (one wandered up to Capulin Spring).  We also did not see Juniper Titmouse, Cassin's or Western Kingbirds, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Western Scrub-jay, American Kestrel, Common Crow, Western Meadowlark,  Canyon Towhee, House Finch,  Hepatic Tanager, Greater Roadrunner, or Black-chinned Hummingbird, all of which have appeared in our yard in Cedar Crest at 7000 feet elevation.  These additional species common in the residential areas just adjacent to the forest were not seen during the walks: Rock Pigeon, European Starling, House Sparrow, Barn and Cliff Swallows.

Sandia Crest (at top of Scenic Byway, 13.5 miles from NM-14): Subalpine forest and meadow.  Representative Species (Click to see and hear):  Golden-crowned Kinglet    Ruby-crowned Kinglet   White-throated Swift    House Wren    Hairy Woodpecker   Townsend's Warbler:    Townsend's Warbler

Capulin Spring Picnic Area (8.1 miles from NM-14): Mixed conifer with spring and meadow.  Representative Species (Click to see and hear): Band-tailed Pigeon    Hermit Thrush    Green-tailed Towhee    Dusky Flycatcher     Red-breasted Nuthatch    Red Crossbill

Cienega Canyon Picnic Area (1.8 miles from NM-14): Ponderosa woodland, riparian area and meadow.  Representative Species (Click to see and hear):  Virginia's Warbler   Western Tanager   Grace's Warbler     Red-naped Sapsucker   Pygmy Nuthatch
Sightings and Abundance of Species seen on
Wednesday Morning Walks by Location and Week, 2003:

SPECIES


Sandia Crest Weeks

01-04-07-10-13-16-19		 Capulin Spring Weeks

02-05-08-11-14-17-20
 		Cienega Canyon Weeks

03-06-09-12-15-18-21

Turkey Vulture

0 0 0 None 1-2 0 3-10 1-2 1-2 0 0 3-10 0 0 1-2 3-10 1-2 3-10 3-10 3-10 0
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 1-2 0 0 0
Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 None 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1-2 1-2 0 1-2 1-2 0 0 1-2 0 1-2 0

Red-tailed Hawk

0 0 0 None 3-10 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 None 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0

Band-tailed Pigeon

0 0 0 None 1-2 0 0 3-10 3-10 3-10 1-2 3-10 1-2 0 1-2 0 3-10 11+ 1-2 3-10 0

Mourning Dove

0 0 0 None 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 3-10 1-2 1-2 0 0 0
Northern Pygmy-owl 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 None 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0

White-throated Swift

>10 1-2 11 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rufous Hummingbird 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 3-10 1-2 1-2 0
Calliope Hummingbird 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 1-2 0 0

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

0 0 1-2 3-10 3-10 3-10 0 >10 3-10 3-10 1-2 3-10 1-2 0 11 11 11+ 11+ 3-10 3-10 1-2

Northern Flicker

3-10 1-2 1-2 3-10 1-2 3-10 1-2 3-10 1-2 3-10 0 1-2 1-2 3-10 1-2 3-10 3-10 3-10 1-2 3-10 11+
Red-naped Sapsucker 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-10 1-2 0 0 0
Downy Woodpecker 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Hairy Woodpecker

1-2 3-10 3-10 3-10 3-10 1-2 0 1-2 1-2 3-10 1-2 1-2 0 1-2 0 0 1-2 3-10 1-2 1-2 3-10
Ash-throated Flycatcher 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 3-10 0 0 0
Olive-sided Flycatcher 0 0 0 None 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0

Western Wood-Pewee

1-2 0 0 None 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3-10 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 3-10 1-2 0
Say's Phoebe 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dusky Flycatcher 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cordilleran Flycatcher

1-2 0 1-2 None 0 1-2 0 0 0 1-2 1-2 0 0 1-2 11 3-10 3-10 3-10 0 0 0

Violet-green Swallow

1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 3-10 3-10 0 0 0
Pinyon Jay 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 1-2 0

Steller's Jay

3-10 1-2 0 1-2 1-2 3-10 3-10 >10 3-10 3-10 3-10 11+ 1-2 11+ 0 0 11+ 3-10 3-10 3-10 11+
Clark's Nutcracker 0 0 0 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Common Raven

>10 3-10 11 1-2 0 3-10 1-2 1-2 1-2 11+ 1-2 1-2 0 0 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-10 0 0

Mountain Chickadee

>10 1-2 3-10 11+ 11+ 11+ 11+ 3-10 11 11 11+ 11+ 11+ 11+ 3-10 3-10 11+ 3-10 11+ 11+ 11+
Bushtit 0 0 0 None 0 0 3-10 0 0 0 0 0 0 3-10 0 0 3-10 11+ 0 11+ 0

Brown Creeper

3-10 0 0 1-2 3-10 3-10 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

White-breasted Nuthatch

3-10 0 1-2 3-10 1-2 1-2 0 3-10 1-2 3-10 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-10 3-10 1-2 0 3-10 3-10 3-10 3-10

Red-breasted Nuthatch

1-2 3-10 1-2 11+ 11+ 11+ 11+ >10 3-10 11 11+ 11+ 3-10 11+ 3-10 0 1-2 0 1-2 1-2 1-2
Pygmy Nuthatch 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 3-10 1-2 1-2 1-2 0

House Wren

3-10 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-10 3-10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0

Golden-crowned Kinglet

3-10 3-10 1-2 11+ 1-2 3-10 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

>10 11 3-10 1-2 1-2 3-10 3-10 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 3-10 0 0 0 0 0 0 11+
Western Bluebird 0 0 0 None 3-10 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0
Townsend's Solitaire 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1-2 0 0 3-10

Hermit Thrush

>10 3-10 3-10 3-10 0 1-2 1-2 >10 11 3-10 0 1-2 1-2 0 1-2 0 1-2 0 0 0 0

American Robin

>10 3-10 11 3-10 0 0 0 >10 11 11 0 0 0 0 11 3-10 11+ 11+ 0 0 3-10
Plumbeous Vireo 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 1-2 3-10 0 0 3-10 0 1-2 0 0 0 0
Cassin's Vireo 0 0 0 None 0 0 0 0 0 0 None 0 0 0