Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Sandhill Crane Behavior 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 the subspecies apart; understand the difference 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 viewing many behaviors on film before traveling to different locations on the refuge to watch and interpret cranes interactions. This is the most comprehensive training on cranes offered at any crane festival. 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. He is now the director of The Wildlife Center in Espanola, New Mexico. 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. Deadly Beauty Behavior Explore the hunting strategies that hawks, falcons, and eagles use to catch their prey. Trained hawks and falcons will be released to fly, chase lures, and possibly even hunt wild quarry (viewers be warned!) Presented by falconer and wildlife rehabilitator Matthew Mitchell, this group will meet at the west side of the Owl Café in San Antonio and carpool a short distance to an area where the birds can be flown safely. Bring your questions and binoculars. Cameras are allowed, but no dogs please. Land, Sea and Air 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 Art Arenholz 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 (about a 90 minute drive from Socorro) 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 1-25 and follow signs to the State Park. Or stay in Truth of 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 forms. Warm clothing is recommended. Limit is 14. Offered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Digital Photography With Long Lenses This three day workshop is designed for those eager to learn how to photograph the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge using a Digital SLR camera. Professional wildlife photographer and naturalist Jerry Goffe and his co-instructors will conduct a three day experience on wildlife and nature photography. Included are both classroom as well as hands-on experience at the Refuge. Proven techniques and tips will be utilized while photographing Sandhill Cranes, Geese, other animals and landscapes of the refuge. The workshop will start at sunrise and go through sunset daily with classroom presentation, downloading, Photoshop, printing and a siesta during the slow times. Our workshop has been designed to give the participants copious amounts of personal assistance while out on the refuge. Canon will be supporting our workshop with camera bodies and lenses to 600mm. Wimberley, Really Right Stuff, B&H photo and others also support the workshop with the use of the products they are known for. Bring your camera and flash, instruction manual, media (memory) cards, tripod, layered clothing and a sense of excitement. Limit 12. River Restoration One hundred years ago, the Rio Grande in the area of Bosque del Apache NWR flowed through a mosiac of habitats including wetlands, forests and a wide-open channel. These habitats were important to wildlife and people along its shores. Join Refuge Ecologist Gina Dello Russo for a look at initiatives that are addressing river health in the Socorro Valley – including river processes, flooding, fire, private property issues and open space along the river corridor. Part lecture, part discussion, this program will include a field trip to sites along the river – on federal, state, and private lands - to look at how people are working together on these issues. This event includes a picnic lunch. Limit 20 people Cerrillos del Coyote Hike The "Coyote Hills" are adjacent to the Quebradas backcountry scenic byway and NE of Socorro. Join naturalist Bob Merkel on a hike through this north Chihuahuan desert landscape and up a rocky slope to one of the Cerrillos peaks. You'll have a panoramic view across the Rio Grande rift valley. The group will also pass a local quarry for wave-rippled sandstone flagstones. The last half mile or so to the trail head requires 4WD and high clearance vehicles; contact the registrar if you'll need to carpool. Tool Tour Behind the peaceful marshes, bustling cornfields, and restored cottonwood forests of the Bosque del Apache NWR is a lot of work - and heavy equipment. Dozers, front end loaders, excavators and other equipment are essential to the management of the refuge. Join Refuge Operations Specialist Bernard Lujan for a tour of the tools the refuge uses to create and maintain habitats.
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