3 Drainside Vegetation in Peril

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3 Drainside Vegetation in Peril Aloft-2017.qxp_Vol. 23 2016 10/31/17 7:32 AM Page 1 Golden Eagles hunt on the expansive plains adjacent to the Taos Gorge in northern New Mexico. Image by Tony Thomas Aloft-2017.qxp_Vol. 23 2016 10/31/17 7:32 AM Page 1 Vol. 24 2017 3 Drainside Vegetation in Peril 4 A Long View on Climate Change 5 Hawks Aloft Galapagos Tour 6 Raptor Populations in Central NM 8 Wildlife and the Border Wall 9 History of the Raptor Rescue Program 13 Avian Response to Fire in Jemez CFLRP 14 Meet the Cassia Crossbill 17 New Mexico Birder: Mary Bruesch 20 Jemez the Mexican Spotted Owl 22 Conservation Education at Hawks Aloft Aloft-2017.qxp_Vol. 23 2016 10/31/17 7:32 AM Page 2 HAWKS ALOFT, INC. PO Box 10028 • Albuquerque, NM 87184 (505) 828-9455 From the Director: WWW.HAWKSALOFT.ORG WHO WE ARE: BOARD OF DIRECTORS Conservation in Action Carter Cherry, Chair by Gail Garber resentatives from government agencies and Nancy Brakensiek, Secretary Hawks Aloft works to conserve indigenous other NGOs (non-governmental organiza- Mary Chappelle, Treasurer wild birds through conservation education, tions) in the NM Avian Conservation Partners Terry Edwards, Director avian research, raptor rescue and collaboration (NMACP) working group, where we maintain Alwyn Vanderwalt, Director with others. the website (http://NM Partners in Flight.org) Often, we are asked about our organiza- and work collaboratively to address avian STAFF & ASSOCIATES tion, “What do you do?” It is really easy to population threats statewide as well as else- Gail Garber, Executive Director elaborate on the first three, very straightfor- where in North American and worldwide. Julia Davis, Education and Outreach Coord. ward components of our mission. However, Not only is this information disseminated on Steve Elkins, Graphic Designer collaboration, a more esoteric concept is, per- the website, we also host biannual statewide Trevor Fetz, Lead Avian Biologist haps, harder to describe. And, how does that meetings to share knowledge among land Angela Green, Office Manager fit into research, rescue, and education? managers, other conservation organization Maggie Grimason, Senior Editor Over the years, Hawks Aloft has been a and interested individuals. Mike Hill, GIS Specialist leader in developing collaborative, statewide Raptor Rescue was written into our mis- Gerald Hobart, Raptor Survey Project Mgr. efforts, like the Burrowing Owl Working sion statement four years ago. This program Everett Ogilvie, Statistician Group, dedicated to protecting a species has seen exponential growth since that time. Amanda Schluter, Biologist under direct threat from development, and We never intended for Hawks Aloft to Contributors – Cynthia Figueroa-McInteer, the New Mexico Avian Protection Working become a full-scale wildlife rehabilitation Tom Mayer Group, whose mission is to reduce avian mor- organization, but the plan was, and remains, Photographers – Keith Bauer, Craig talities due to electrocution and collision with to facilitate the rescue of injured raptors, Benkman, Doug Brown, Alan Murphy, power lines. These are just two examples corvids and roadrunners, ensuring that they David Powell, Larry Rimer, Tony Thomas that have had tremendous success in publi- are transported to the facility that can best cizing threats to avian populations and care for them. Our role is essentially the ON THE FRONT COVER: proactively working to improve conditions. Avian Ambulance and Emergency Room Lazuli Bunting has experienced long-term As a non-lobbying group, we provide where triage is provided and birds are cared population declines in New Mexico. sound scientific data to land managers so for until such time as they are ready for a Photo by Alan Murphy. that they can, using study results, make deci- larger space for flight and kill training. We sions that benefit wildlife while still allowing host the statewide call center (aka cell phone) ON THE BACK COVER: for human uses, often recreational. Trevor that is answered 24/7. When calls come in, a Golden Eagles hunt on the expansive plains Fetz’s feature article in this issue details the text is dispatched to all the rescuers on the adjacent to the Taos Gorge in northern New declining bird populations in the Corrales list, who then travel to pick up, and some- Mexico. Image by Tony Thomas bosque, a prime example of the effects of times capture the injured bird, and safely OUR MISSION multiple land managers, each operating with deliver it to our office or another rehab cen- different goals and sometimes working on ter. We thank the many veterinarians Hawks Aloft, Inc. works to conserve indigenous wild birds and their habitats small sections within this reach of riparian for- throughout the state that provide free med- through avian research, conservation est. When assessed individually, each project ical care to these birds. Plans are already education, and cooperation with others. might not have much effect, but when evalu- underway to begin holding advanced reha- Hawks Aloft is funded, in part, by ated as the sum of all efforts, the significant bilitation training classes for all interested in membership. To become a member and decline in bird numbers relative to the ongo- this worthy effort. This too is a collaborative receive future issues of Aloft, as well as ing land management is deeply troubling. As effort among many, the only way effective our monthly online newsletter, please Dave Krueper, a former US Fish and Wildlife change can occur. If you are interested in visit our website: www.hawksaloft.org Service biologist, states in reference to the participating in a future class, please contact Corrales bosque, “It is death by a thousand our office. (C) 2017 Hawks Aloft, Inc. Aloft is published annually. We invite contributions, but cannot cuts.” Although you, the reader, are seeing While these collaborative efforts affect be held responsible for their loss or damage. this for the first time, these data and the arti- positive change for wildlife via habitat con- Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope cle summarizing the decline were provided to servation, safe utility poles, or direct rescues, with submission. Articles will be edited land managers as soon as it was completed. there is essentially no funding for any of at our discretion. In other avian arenas, we actively partici- these actions – other than member dona- pate in conservation efforts, largely behind tions. We thank those of you who donate the scenes. We work hand-in-hand with rep- to keep programs like these alive! n 2 Aloft 2017 Hawks Aloft 505-828-9455 Aloft-2017.qxp_Vol. 23 2016 10/31/17 7:32 AM Page 3 R ESEARCH Drainside Vegetation in Corrales Provides Exceptional Avian Habitat, but is in Peril By Trevor Fetz swale/bank terrace construction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers In 2004, Hawks Aloft began the Middle Rio Grande Songbird Study (USACE) resulted in the removal of large amounts of woody vegetation (MRGSS) which monitors avian use over a 79-mile stretch of the middle throughout the Corrales bosque. Ideally, upland re-vegetation efforts Rio Grande bosque between Rio Rancho and the La Joya Waterfowl and the creation of swale and bank terrace habitat by USACE will Management Area. Currently, we survey 81 transects (averaging 800 enhance bird numbers in the future. But, the growth of new vegetation meters in length) on lands managed by six different entities, including has generally not yet been substantial enough to begin supporting 22 transects in the Corrales bosque. increased numbers of birds. Additionally, sporadic thinning efforts by During each of the first 10 years of this study, avian density and rich- New Mexico Department of Forestry (NMDF) crews, apparently at the ness during both winter and summer were higher in the Corrales request of the Village of Corrales, occurred primarily within USACE pro- bosque than areas managed by any of the other five bosque land man- ject areas during late 2016 and early 2017. This thinning appeared to agement entities. But, that advantage began to diminish in 2011 and vanished in 2014, when Corrales fell to second in winter avian density See Drainside Vegetstion page 18 4 and fifth in winter avian richness. Corrales also fell to third in sum- mer avian richness in 2014. The trends documented in 2014 contin- Top: The difference in habitat ued or worsened for Corrales through 2017, as avian use there quality along the Corrales remained low relative to most other management areas. drain in areas with understory Widespread drought resulted in lower bird numbers throughout vegetation on the west edge the MRGSS study area from summer 2010 through winter 2014. But, and without vegetation on the other management areas within the middle Rio Grande saw recover- west edge is obvious. ies in avian use beginning in summer 2014 that were not document- Photos by Trevor Fetz. ed in Corrales. Vegetation removal in recent years has been a key Left: Cedar Waxwing is a factor in preventing bird numbers in Corrales from rebounding common winter resident along toward pre-drought levels. The first significant vegetation removal portions of the Corrales drain in Corrales occurred in winter 2011 when the west side of the drain with understory vegetation on (or "clear ditch") north of the Harvey Jones channel was completely the west edge, but absent in cleared, resulting in a significant decrease in avian density (mean portions lacking understory number of birds per 100 acres) and richness (total number of species vegetation. documented at densities ≥1.5 individuals per 100 acres) during both Photo by David Powell. summer and winter on the two impacted transects (Tukey-Kramer tests; see Table 1 pg. 18). From 2012 through 2015, restoration and Raptor Rescue Hotline 505-999-7740 2017 Aloft 3 Aloft-2017.qxp_Vol.
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