THURSDAY FESTIVAL OF THE CRANES Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

THURSDAY, November 20, 2008

Walk out to Fly out
Tour
5:30 am to 7:30 am Th22 - $5
Bosque del Apache NWR, Crane 2

A sunrise spectacular! Countless birds rising into the sky! Take a short bus ride and then walk out to watch the incredible flight of thousands of geese and cranes leaving their roosts. Warm shoes and clothing recommended. Offered Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Meet in the Visitor Center parking lot.

 

Black Belt Birding
Tour
5:30 am to 10:00 am Th23 - $90
Bosque del Apache NWR, Quail 1

A tour for intermediate and expert birders. You will have the most experienced guides and birding assistants the Bosque has to offer for a morning of serious birding. Coffee and pastries along with a souvenir mug and tote are provided but the focus is on BIRDING. Your host will be Cecil Kimberlin, long-time guide at the Bosque del Apache NWR. This event is offered Thursday and Friday. Limit 12.

 

Sandhill Crane Behavior
Workshop
5:30 am to 11:30 am Th24 - $65
Bosque del Apache NWR, Crane1

The most comprehensive training on cranes offered at any crane festival, this morning-long workshop will teach you many of the common vocalizations, body language and other characteristics of sandhill cranes. You'll learn to recognize juveniles, tell subspecies apart, distinguish between dancing and aggression and many other details that will help you better understand and appreciate sandhill cranes. At first light we will listen to the cranes on their roosting spots to identify vocalizations and other behaviors. We then move to the classroom for breakfast and to view many behaviors on film before traveling to different locations on the Refuge to watch and interpret crane interactions. Your instructors are Paul Tebbel and Keanna Leonard. Paul has worked with cranes for 30 years, including 11 years as the director of Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary on the Platte River in Nebraska where more cranes gather every spring than any other location in the world. Keanna is the Director of Education at Rowe Sanctuary and helps over 7,000 students every year understand and appreciate cranes, wildlife habitat and the Platte River. Warm shoes and warm, layered clothing recommended. Limit 15. Offered Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

 

Deadly Beauty Photography
Workshop
8:00 am to 11:00 am Th25 - $35
San Antonio, Owl Bar Parking Lot

Photograph the hunting strategies that hawks, falcons, and eagles use to catch their prey. This event will give priority to the needs of photographers. Falconer and wildlife rehabilitator Matthew Mitchell'strained hawks and falcons will be released to fly, chase lures, and possibly even hunt wild quarry (viewers be warned!) This group will meet at the west side of the Owl Cafe in San Antonio at 8:00 AM and carpool a short distance to an area where the birds can be flown safely. Bring your questions, tripods, cameras and binoculars, but no dogs.

 

Land, Sea and Air
Tour
8:30 am to 2:00 pm Th26 - $90
Marina del Sur, Elephant Butte Lake

Sea birds, diving ducks, cormorants, grebes, white pelicans and more can be found in a dramatic geological setting at Elephant Butte Lake. Join Steve Green and Tamie Bulow for this exciting trip aboard a 44-foot twin-engine houseboat, followed by birding on land. Breakfast snacks and a full lunch, featuring locally grown and produced foods, will be served. The boat will leave promptly at 9:00 am from Marina del Sur at Elephant Butte State Park and will return to the same location around noon. From there we caravan (5-10 minutes) to the riparian area at the base of Elephant Butte Dam for more birding. Take exit 83 on I-25 and follow signs to the State Park. As the park is a 90-minute drive from Socorro, you may want to stay the night before the trip in Truth or Consequences. We will be happy to send information on accommodations close to the tour site. The price of the tour is refundable if the weather is such that the trip has to be canceled. Be sure to note your dietary requirements on the meals page of the registration form. Warm clothing is recommended. Limit 14. Offered Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Where the Buffalo Roam
Lecture
9:00 am to 10:30 am Th27 - $5
Macey Center, Copper

The Armendaris Grant runs south from the Bosque del Apache NWR to below Truth or Consequences. Its 600 square miles encompass an entire mountain range,
seven ghost towns, the oldest Spanish mine, a bat cave with the 4th largest bat population in the US, 3 frontier fort sites and the historic El Camino Real del Adentro. Wildlife such as eagles, hawks, bats, antelope, mule deer and oryx are abundant as well as some Desert Bighorn sheep, Aplomado falcons, Bolson tortoises and blacktailed prairie dogs. And there are bison - lots of bison. Tom Waddell, the ranch manager, has agreed to make an appearance and will give an informal presentation on the ranch, the bison and the research programs that are being carried out there. More fireside chat than lecture, this is an opportunity to gain insight into a fascinating place that is normally closed to the public.

 

Digiscoping: the art of photography through a spotting scope
Workshop
9:00 am to Noon Th28 - $15
Bosque del Apache NWR, Lannan

Join Jeff Bouton for an hour long classroom session reviewing the "nuts and bolts" of digiscoping, including: camera selection, coupling varying cameras and scopes for maximum effectiveness, comparisons between digiscoping and telephoto lens photography, adapter selection, and some field craft tips to maximize your equipment's potential. Learn how you can achieve incredible results at focal lengths reaching 6,000 mm equivalents through your spotting scope! Following the classroom session, we will take to the field for a couple hours of hands-on opportunities working with the equipment and the cooperative wildlife subjects. In the past four years, Jeff has shot from the hip as he travels and watches birds & wildlife. His digiscoped images have been published in Outdoor Photographer, PC Photographer, WildBird, Birding Business Magazine, etc., and he has over 1300 digiscoped wildlife images online as well. Join Jeff to learn more about this fun and exciting way to capture wildlife images through a spotting scope. To make the most of this session, bring whatever equipment you have.

 

All About Raptors
Workshop
9:00 am to 1:00 pm Th29 - $25
Bosque del Apache NWR, Lannan

Join an experienced raptor handler for this comprehensive course on the identification of birds of prey. Your instructor will combine live demonstration birds, photographs and field observation to help you learn to recognize the plumage variations in red-tailed hawks to telling the age of an immature bald eagle. This workshop will focus on specific features of different species while also providing you with interesting information about their habitat needs and behavior. Your instructor is Dr. Kathleen Ramsay. Dr. Ramsay started the Wildlife Center in Espanola, NM, over 20 years ago and provides veterinary care for hundreds of raptors every year. She is also one of the primary field veterinarians for the New Mexico Game and Fish Department.

 

Discover Sevilleta
Tour
9:00 am to 3:00 pm Th30 - $10
Sevilleta NWR, Visitor Center

Approximately 230,000 acres in size, the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge is a vast landscape in the heart of New Mexico. It supports four major ecosystems, touches two mountain ranges and embraces the largest river in the State. Its magnitude and austere beauty make the Refuge unforgettable, but its true significance lies in its function. The Refuge is managed not for a specific species of wildlife, but for the natural processes of flood, fire and succession that sustain this huge landscape's functioning ecosystems. These varied habitats provide homes for a diversity of wildlife and plants, many existing at the edge of their capabilities. The majority of the land that makes up the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge is closed to public access, allowing for wildlife management, habitat restoration and research. This tour provides a rare opportunity to visit the Refuge's back-country. Bring lunch and plenty to drink. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. This tour includes some easy walking over uneven terrain. Take I-25 north to exit 169, turn west to the Refuge Visitor Center. Limit 20 people.

 

Refuge Birding Tour
Tour
9:30 am to 11:30 am Th31 - $5
Bosque del Apache NWR, Crane 2

The Refuge Birding Tour focuses on the species that can be seen within the Bosque del Apache NWR. The exact tour route will depend on the distribution of birds on that day. Offered Thursday and Friday. Meet in the Visitor Center parking lot. Limit 40.

 

Refuge Manager Tour
Tour
10:00 am to Noon Th32 - $5
Bosque del Apache NWR, Crane 1

Tour the Bosque del Apache NWR with a Refuge Manager and learn about the history of the Refuge, its goals, and how these goals are being achieved. You will visit areas not normally open to the public to view the methods and technology behind the scenes. Offered Thursday and Friday. Meet in the Visitor Center parking lot. Limit 40.

 

Bats!
Lecture
11:00 am to 12:30 pm Th33 - $5
Macey Center, Galena
Join world renowned bat photographer and researcher Scott Altenbach as he dispels myths about these mysterious creatures and explains their important role in nature.

 

Red Paint and Blue Coats: A Warrior's Revenge
Lecture
11:00 am to 12:30 pm Th34 - $5
Macey Center, Copper

Bosque del Apache. It seems fitting to talk about a few of the people for whom the Refuge is named. This talk explores one of the last chapters of the Apache Wars which raged in this area in the 1800s, one in which the Red Paint People, whom we called the Warm Springs Apache, were pitted against the US military. In the summer of 1881, after a series of devastating losses, Nana and a small band of warriors went on a revenge raid throughout a vast portion of southern New Mexico.

 

Lunch on the Mezzanine
Noon to 1:00 pm Th35 - $15
Macey Center, Mezzanine

We will be serving a hot buffet lunch on the mezzanine at Macey Center. This is an opportunity to meet other Festival attendees as well as Festival speakers. Seating is limited to 40 and is by prepaid reservation only. Available Thursday and Saturday.

 

Canyon Trail Hike
Hike
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Th36 - $5
Bosque del Apache NWR, Canyon Trailhead

Local naturalist Bob Merkel will lead the group on a 2-3/4 mile round trip along the wide and very sandy Solitude Arroyo and through a fascinating narrow canyon. The canyon is replete with geologically interesting formations from Tertiary time, several million years before the Rio Grande existed. Evidences of eruptions, floods, and desert dunes are there for all to see. Meet at the Canyon Trailhead 1.5 miles south of the Bosque Visitor Center. Note: because of the sand and elevation change this hike is "Moderate"; definitely not "Easy."

 

Nature Journaling: Painting your field notes
Workshop
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Th37 - $35
Bosque, Lannan

Learn to see quickly and record your observations in pencil and watercolor. Take a crash course in drawing from nature and how to translate your observations onto paper. Spend time looking and remembering, then make the eye hand connection resulting in drawings, paintings, and illustrations from the field. Be prepared to have fun, work hard, and be surprised!

Bring a small drawing paper pad, at least 8 x 10, any soft pencils, charcoal or conte crayon, and/or drawing pens and ink. Bring a kneaded eraser, a small pan or tube watercolor set with pallette, and at least 2 sizes of good watercolor brushes. Colored pencils are acceptable. Water and water holders will be provided.

 

Duck Ecology
Lecture
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Th38 - $5
Macey Center, Copper

Ducks are the dominant avifauna of wetland systems and one of the most successful avian groups in the world. Representatives breed on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. The success of this group of birds is tied to the diversity in size and shape of various parts of their body. These physical features allow ducks to travel great distances, be reactive to wetland availability, and survive through periods of poor habitat condition. In this presentation Land Management Research and Demonstration Biologist John Vradenburg will discuss duck ecology as it relates to habitat use, migration timing and distance, and reproductive strategies. Emphasis will be placed on common species to Bosque del Apache NWR .

 

Cave Swallows
Lecture
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Th39 - $5
Macey Center, Galena

In 1978 Steve West began a study of Cave Swallows in Texas and New Mexico. He moved to New Mexico in 1980, and since that time has overseen the banding of 18,000 birds and 14,000 retraps. A study designed to discover the winter range of the last species of cave swallows in North America has developed into a passion to learn everything possible about this largely cave-dwelling species: one of only two species in the New World that depend so heavily on caves.

 

VLA Tour
Tour
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm Th40 - Free
West of Magdalena, VLA

The VLA (Very Large Array) sits on the Plains of San Agustin, 50 miles west of Socorro and is used by radio astronomers from all over the world. It consists of 27 230-ton dish antennas, which can be moved along three 13-mile arms of a Y-shaped array. A staff member will discuss the history, operation and mission of this "other-worldly" project. Take Highway 60 west from Socorro to Magdalena. Continue west for 19 miles. Turn south on Route 52 and follow signs to the VLA Visitor Center. Allow one hour travel time from Socorro. Offered Thursday and Friday.

 

Oreodont: A 10-million-year-old Fossil Discovery at the Bosque
3:30 pm to 5:00 pm Th41 - $5
Macey Center, Auditorium

Gary Morgan, Curator of Paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Dave Love of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology were part of a team of geologists and paleontologists who discovered and collected the skull, lower jaws, and partial skeleton of an "oreodont" this past spring at the Bosque del Apache NWR. The fossil skeleton of this unusual member of cloven-hoofed ungulates was found in 10-million-year-old Miocene rocks in a sandstone cliff near the Bosque's Canyon Trail. Their talk will focus on this strange-looking boar-sized herbivore, distantly related to both pigs and camels, and the excitement this find has generated.

 

Walk in to Fly in
4:30 pm to 6:00 pm Th42 - $5
Bosque del Apache NWR, Crane 1

An evening extravaganza! Watch as the evening sky fills with thousands of geese and cranes returning to the nighttime safety of the marshes. A bus ride and a short walk will take you to the roost area. Wear comfortable shoes and dress warmly. Offered Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Meet in the Visitor Center parking lot.

 

Bosque Management Reception
5:30 pm to 6:30 pm Th43 - Free
Macey Center, Mezzanine

 

Friends Annual Dinner
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm Th44 - $28
Macey Center, Mezzanine

The Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge invite you to join in the sixth annual Friends Banquet on the Macey Center Mezzanine. Open to everyone, the banquet provides you the opportunity to meet the Friends in an informal setting. Refuge staff will be available before dinner to discuss projects and initiatives in the biology, visitor services, and fire programs. We have a number of activities planned and there will be an exhibit by local artists. There will be a cash bar. Be sure to make your dinner selection on the registration form.

 

Mysteries of the Ft. Stanton Cave and Snowy River
Keynote
8:00 pm to 9:30 pm Th45 - $5
Macey Center, Auditorium

The birds that visit New Mexico every year fly over a wondrous hidden wilderness beneath the ground that few people (or birds!) ever see. This wilderness exists in the numerous and extensive cave systems that underlay many parts of New Mexico. A mere hour and a half drive from Socorro to the east is the Ft. Stanton Cave system, a cave that has been known and used by Native Americans, white settlers, and is used today for recreational cave trips. In 2001, Ft. Stanton yielded up a new glorious secret buried at her heart .... a gleaming "frozen" river of crystalline calcite in a previously unknown passage, Snowy River.

Professor Boston will present the amazing animals and geomicroorganisms that inhabit or visit cave systems including those that live in Ft. Stanton Cave and Snowy River. She will discuss the critical nutrient and water connections between surface and subsurface ecosystems and the vital role that caves play in the natural world.

Dr. Penelope Boston is Director of the Cave and Karst Studies Program and Associate Professor in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, NM. Boston is also Associate Director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in Carlsbad, NM. A fellow of the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, she does research in geomicrobiology and astrobiology in extreme environments; human life support issues in space and planetary environments; and use of robotics to assist exploration and science in extreme Earth and extraterrestrial environments. Boston is the author of over 100 technical and popular publications, editor of 4, and has two upcoming popular books. Her work has been featured in about 150 print and broadcast media outlets.