Tbs' True Leader Is Moving On
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July 16: Zoom to a TBs’ True Leader Virtual Meeting Is Moving On This presentation will include By John “Lefty” Arnold a brief member meeting, as In March of this year, Thursday Birders required annually of all non-profit Trip Coordinator Rebecca Gracey organizations, and will be conducted announced that she was retiring from her over Zoom. More information duties after 16 years in that position. about linking to the meeting will be But—no distributed in early July. surprise The meeting also will feature here—she Christopher Rustay and Robert did not just Munro updating the story of Melrose announce Woods, a remarkable migrant trap, it. She said with 44 species of warblers reported. if some- Christopher Rustay will share some one came of his experiences with this magical forward to spot and Robert Munro will provide replace her an update about the CNMAS that would partnership with the State Land be Plan A. Office to protect the area. More Rebecca Gracey (center) If that per- information is provided in Robert’s By Michele Weisz son would article in this issue. be willing to schedule two trips each week, that would be Enhanced Plan A. Mean- while Rebecca suggested Plan B, beginning Board ‘Gives’ Thanks to Rebecca in the fall. Plan B would be two trips per By Sara Jayne Cole week with no leaders and no carpooling. Rebecca’s field-trip ideas elicited The CNMAS Board is thanking Rebecca numerous positive and well-considered on- Gracey for 16 years as Thursday Birders line responses. As (hopefully) the pandemic Vol. 49, No. 2 No. 49, Vol. Coordinator with a donation of $160 to the under which we all are living becomes First Unitarian Church Food Pantry. less virulent and folks emerge from self- Although the CNMAS mission is to isolation, we can return to the enjoyable conserve wildlife and their habitat, the board and genial art of group birding. felt it would be meaningful to recognize After more than 30 years as a weekly Rebecca by donating to another cause close event, the Thursday Birders field trips to her heart. Those who would like to join have increased from a dozen or so birders Summer 2020 her in giving to the food pantry may go to per excursion to more than 30 people per http://uuabq.com. outing, reducing the ability to ensure that Central New Mexico Audubon SocietyCentral Mexico Audubon New As a 501(3)(c) non-profit, CNMAS everyone is able to hear about and see each receives a percentage of dues paid to the bird the group locates. With Rebecca’s National Audubon Society. However, we retirement and suggestions, the Central are an independent chapter and rely on New Mexico Audubon board is developing donations to fund our many programs. new guidelines for Thursday Birders that Donation may be made on the CNMAS will be discussed in the Autumn 2020 home page: Burrowing Owl. http://cnmas.newmexicoaudubon.org continued on the next page or mailed to P.O. Box 30002, Albuquerque, NM 87190. Questions and Answers Covering 16 Years continued from the previous page Q: “Did you ever encounter serious problems on these trips? Here’s a Q & A session with Rebecca A: “Luckily no one ever got hurt. A couple about her tenure as Thursday of times we had to almost Birders Trip Coordinator: carry someone down from the Q: You began your 16- Hawkwatch site in the Sandias, year journey in 2004. Who and one time we helped a person had been coordinating trips in the Manzanos who had a before that? medical condition.” A: “For the first eight Q: Do you have a favorite trip? years, Tami Bulow led A: “Once Judy Liddell planned the trips and the group a ‘Birding by Railrunner to a collectively decided where surprise location’ trip. We were to go on the next week’s met at the train station in Santa outing. Then Julie Gooding Team leader Rebecca (at her scope) at Bosque del Apache Fe, took the shuttle to the Capitol and Madge Wallen took building and then employees from By Judy Liddell the reins in 1996, followed Randall Davey ferried us to their by Mary Lou Arthur from Audubon Center.” to 1998 to 2004. She planned trips two to 2 three weeks in advance, leading many of Q: As part of your efforts to coordinate them herself and asking others to lead trips trips, you were involved with several Birdathon as well.” fundraisers. How were those events? A: “The Birdathons were always fun. The Q: Why did you begin to schedule trips first one I led was to Turtle Bay on the New three months in advance? Mexico Tech campus, Water Canyon, The Box A: “It made it easier for me because once and Bosque del Apache on April 29, 2010. the schedule was done for a season, I didn’t We had 26 team members and with that many have to worry about it for two months. people we broke into smaller groups at Bosque Thursday Birders averaged 50 trips per year.” del Apache. That evening, when we met to go Q: Was it easy to recruit leaders for these over the list, I was pleasantly surprised to learn excursions? what each group had seen. We ended up with Central New Mexico Audubon SocietyCentral New Mexico Audubon A: “I had an average of 13 leaders that I 135 species. That was the most fun I ever had on would contact each quarter by email. Most a Birdathon because of the worry of not doing people would say yes, making my job easier.” well, and then doing great.” Q: Did anyone volunteer to lead before she or he was asked to do so? A: “Once Sei Tokuda contacted me before I started working on the winter Coordinator by the Numbers schedule and said he would like to lead two trips to the Bosque del Apache, so I put March 2004 through March 2020: him on the schedule. He was a sweetheart • Days: 5,875 and he loved to show beginners a bird.” • Hours: 141,000 • Minutes: 8,460,000 Q: How many trips did you attend and • Seconds: 507,600,000 did you lead trips yourself? • Number of Thursdays: 839 A: “If there were 800 trips in the 16 • Number of TB trips: About 800 years, I might have missed 25. I led 123, • Number of TB Coordinators: 1 about 15 percent of them.” Unique Birdathon Logs 206 Species Here are the Birds: By Kathy Carson Black-bellied Cattle Egret Given the social distancing Whistling-Duck Green Heron Ross’s Goose Black-crowned requirements this spring, CNMAS Canada Goose Night-Heron decided to conduct a different kind of Egyptian Goose White-faced Ibis Birdathon with no specific destinations Wood Duck Turkey Vulture and no teams. This unusual approach Blue-winged Teal Osprey Cinnamon Teal Mississippi Kite compiled individual Northern Shoveler Sharp-shinned Hawk efforts from wherever Gadwall Cooper’s Hawk American Wigeon Northern Goshawk people were able to bird Mallard Common Black Hawk during the first two weeks Green-winged Teal Swainson’s Hawk of May and combined Redhead Red-tailed Hawk Lesser Scaup Western Screech-Owl that information into a Common Merganser Great Horned Owl joint list. Ruddy Duck Burrowing Owl A total of 23 birders Northern Bobwhite Lewis’s Woodpecker Scaled Quail Red-headed made 54 counts in Gambel’s Quail Woodpecker Albuquerque-area Wild Turkey Acorn Woodpecker Phainopepla backyards, a cabin near 3 Pied-billed Grebe Downy Woodpecker Eared Grebe Ladder-backed Las Vegas, a meadow in Angel Fire, a backyard Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) Woodpecker in Socorro, Melrose Woods and Paseo del Rio Band-tailed Pigeon Hairy Woodpecker campground in Truth or Consequences. Eurasian Collared-Dove Northern Flicker White-winged Dove American Kestrel Participants pledged cash donations for Mourning Dove Peregrine Falcon each bird they logged. The money will be given Greater Roadrunner Olive-sided Flycatcher to the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area Western Wood-Pewee Lesser Nighthawk in Valencia County. The total is still being Common Nighthawk Eastern Wood-Pewee Black-chinned Hummingbird Hammond’s Flycatcher compiled but will be available soon on Broad-tailed Hummingbird Gray Flycatcher http://cnmas.newmexicoaudubon.org/events/birdathon. American Coot Dusky Flycatcher Black-necked Stilt Cordilleran Flycatcher American Avocet Black Phoebe Snowy Plover Say’s Phoebe Central New Mexico Audubon SocietyCentral New Mexico Audubon Killdeer Vermilion Flycatcher Long-billed Curlew Ash-throated Hudsonian Godwit Flycatcher Baird’s Sandpiper Cassin’s Kingbird Least Sandpiper Western Kingbird Semipalmated Sandpiper Eastern Kingbird Long-billed Dowitcher Scissor-tailed Wilson’s Phalarope Flycatcher Spotted Sandpiper Plumbeous Vireo Solitary Sandpiper Warbling Vireo Scott’s Oriole Willet Loggerhead Shrike Franklin’s Gull Steller’s Jay Ring-billed Gull Blue Jay Least Tern Woodhouse’s Neotropic Cormorant Scrub-Jay Double-crested Cormorant Black-billed Magpie American White Pelican Clark’s Nutcracker Great Blue Heron American Crow Pygmy Nuthatch Snowy Egret continued on the next page Photos on this page by Joe Schelling The Birders Rebecca Gracey Kim Score Bernard Morris Lannois Neely Deanna Nichols Lynn Schuler Doug Loescher Melissa Howard MacGillivray’s Warbler Dwayne and Owen Sinkus Marj Longenbaugh Rebecca Helianthus By Deanna Nichols Ellen Lenz Sara Jayne Cole Jody Addis Sonja Mendoza Jorgen Hog Susan Hunter Judy Liddell Virginia Davis Ken Cole Perrianne Houghton Vermilion Flycatcher Bonnie Long By Rebecca Gracey American White Pelicans with Canada Goose By Joe Schelling 4 Mississippi Kite By Joe Schelling . And Even More Birds Chihuahuan Raven Bewick’s Wren Clay-colored Sparrow Great-tailed Grackle Common Raven European Starling Brewer’s Sparrow Worm-eating Warbler Black-capped Chickadee Gray Catbird Black-throated Sparrow Black-and-White Warbler Mountain Chickadee Curve-billed Thrasher Lark