Randall Davey Audubon Center Newsletter   Spring 2006
HONORING A LOVE OF NATURE CHILDREN
A WILDLIFE CHAMPION
SPANISH LANGUAGE BIRD BOOK DONATION
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S NEST
WELCOME STACY!
IMPORTANT BIRD AREA (IBA) PROGRAM UPDATE
AUDUBON SUMMER DAY CAMP 2006!
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
BIRDATHON IS UPON US!

HONORING A LOVE OF NATURE CHILDREN
Two women who made lasting impressions on their communities and on their community of friends and families have been remembered at the Randall Davey Audubon Center. Kathy Fertig and Anne Bonnet Warren both loved nature, so their families and friends wanted to honor that passion and pass along that legacy to children who discover the wonders of nature through Audubon’s education the Center.

Adventure seems to have been an essential part of Kathy Fertig’s life. She grew up in the Philippines and lived at various times in Georgia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, and overseas in Kenya and Australia. She arrived in Santa Fe in the f5ll of 2000 and fell in love with the mountains. During the week she was a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Arroyo Chamiso Pediatric Center. Most weekends would find her on a hiking trail. So it is fitting that a trail at the Center has been named for hen The Kathy Fertig Trail runs through the middle of the El Temporal Loop and leads to the entrance of Bear Canyon.

In addition, Kathy’s family and friends have established the Kathy Fertig Memorial Fund, an endowment that will provide scholarships for classes from Santa Fe elementary schools to participate in natural history field trips to the Center. By instilling knowledge of our diverse natural heritage in exciting and fun ways, we hope these children will he inspired to preserve and protect the Southwestern lands and wildlife Kathy loved so much.

Anne Bonner Warren practiced psychology from 1957 to 2000 in Los Alamos, where she was active with a number of community groups, including the Los Alamos Family Council and the Los Alamos Family Y. She also was an avid birder and active Audubon member, participating in numerous field trips. This past full, her husband of 54 years, Lee, and their daughters Sarah and Carol dedicated a beautiful stone bench on the Loop Trail in Anne’s memory. They chose a site where they and Center visitors can quietly contemplate nature’s simple beauty.

Many friends remembered Anne with memorial contributions to the Center in 2004 and 2005. These funds were used to supplement a grant from the City’ of Santa Fe Children and Youth Commission that allowed additional classes of fourth and fifth graders from schools on the city’s south and west sides to enjoy’ field trips to the Center. It is quite thrilling to watch a group of young children learn to use binoculars and to really see a bird up-close for the first time!

These two remarkable women touched many lives and generously shared their enjoyment of our natural world with others. We are most grateful that their families and friends chose the Randall Davey Audubon Center as a place to honor and remember them.

A WILDLIFE CHAMPION
We at Audubon were saddened by the passing of Pat lnsley, a true hero for our state’s wildlife. An avid birder and rock hound, she never missed an opportunity to share her love of nature and wild creatures with children and adults. She was a dedicated volunteer at the Randall Davey Center and The Wildlife Center in Española. On behalf of all our furred and feathered friends, thank you Pat. We will miss you.

SPANISH LANGUAGE BIRD BOOK DONATION
In response to the article in the Audubon New Mexico Winter 2005-2006 statewide newsletter about Kenn Kaufman’s Spanish language bird book, Gala de campo a las aves de Norteamérica, a family in Santa Fe is donating funds for the purchase of 50 copies to be donated to young birders in New Mexico, the El Paso area and northern Mexico. The Audubon New Mexico staff is coordinating with several groups to get these generously donated guides into the hands of future naturalists!

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S NEST
If all goes successfully by the time you read this I will no longer be the Director. Now don’t jump to conclusions, even if you want to. I am still here and very much a part of the Audubon and Center family in New Mexico. What will have happened is that through our successes and all of your support of our work, we have grown to the point where it is important to hire a Center Manager, someone whose focus is to make the Randall Davey Audubon Center an even more effective advocate for protecting nature, educating citizens and being an active player in the City of Santa Fe and northern New Mexico. I will continue as the Executive Director of Audubon New Mexico, so the new manager will have to learn to manage the center and my management style. He/she will have their work cut out for them.

This change has been brewing for some time. We are over 20 years old and have been successful in making an imprint in the nature center community and in Santa Fe. You could say I’m a hit biased but I believe we have developed one, if not the best, environmental education program in the area. We continue to he committed to offering visitors the sense of awe we should all have for the wonders of nature and to provide tools for protecting our environment. Our two educators, Eileen Everett and Stacy Urich work tirelessly at the Center and throughout the state using birds, other wildlife and their habitats as the tools for opening up the world of nature to our children.

Come to the Center almost any day and you will be able to witness the excitement of children experiencing, and beginning to understand nature, many for the first time. I continue to be amazed by the number of children that come to the Center from Santa Fe and the surrounding neighborhoods and this is their first hike, the first time they have used binocular and their first time to dissect an owl pellet (well there is a first time for everything). This is why our work is so important.

But there is more to this story. We are reaching out to more rural communities, trying to - connect them with the natural resources near them. We have been teaching in the Raton and Las Vegas areas, using the Maxwell and Las Vegas National ‘Wildlife Refuges as outdoor laboratories and in Roswell, partnering with the Bitter Lake Refuge there. We have been teaching in Las Cruces and hope to soon use the new Rio Grande Bosque State Park as our outdoor classroom. Not every community has a National Wildlife Refuge or a State Park in their backyard but many have Important Bird Areas nearby. Important Bird Areas or IBAs are bird habitats that have been identified by Audubon volunteers using specific criteria, that need special attention. Connecting communities with IBAs is a goal of Audubon New Mexico and that connection we hope will he accomplished through education, science and just plain old caring about a special place.

The future health of our only home, Earth, will soon he the responsibility of our children and their children. At the Randall Davey Audubon Center we are doing all we can to prepare them to be the best and most knowledgeable stewards they can possibly be.

WELCOME STACY!
Stacy Urich joined the Audubon New Mexico staff as Education Specialist in the fall of 2005. She comes to us with years of teaching experience in such far-flung locales as Homer and Anchorage, Alaska, Chaing Rai, Thailand and Reidsville, North Carolina. However, she began her life-long love of nature in the Southwest - Colorado and Arizona. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Child Development from Northern Arizona University and is happy to be back in the Southwest near family and friends. Stacy is coordinating field trips and in-class programs provided to Santa Fe area schools along with other education responsibilities.

IMPORTANT BIRD AREA (IBA) PROGRAM UPDATE
Mexico as Important Bird Areas. The sites and the persons nominating each IBA are Sauz Creek and Perico Creek both on the Kiowa National Grasslands (Nancy Walls), Sugarite Canyon State Park (Robert Dye), Clayton Lake State Park (Charles Jordon), and Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge (Patty Hoban). In December certificates were presented to the Kiowa National Grasslands, Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge, Clayton Lake State Park, and Los Luceros Historic Area (Barbara Candelaria). Certificates also were presented at Bandelier National Monument, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Roswell and at the Randall Davey Audubon Center.

Sauz Creek on the Kiowa is recognized as providing an area for species of concern, providing rare or unique habitat, and an area of long-term research, monitoring or education. Perico Creek on the Kiowa, Sugarite Canyon State Park, and Los Luceros Historic Area provide habitat for species of concern. Clayton Lake State Park and Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge provide areas for significant numbers of one or more species.

The IBA program is a global effort to identify areas that are most important for maintaining bird populations, and to focus conservation efforts at protecting these sites. Audubon New Mexico is currently seeking a fulltime Director of Bird Conservation who will take responsibility for the IBA program as well as other activities. For more information on the IBA program, please visit the Audubon New Mexico web site at www.nm.audubon.org.

AUDUBON SUMMER DAY CAMP 2006!
Even though we still have a few weeks of winter we’re already preparing for summer camp at the Center. Once again, our education staff will offer eight one-week camp sessions from June 5th to August 4th for children from 5 to 11 years old. We’ll also have Family Nights on ‘Thursday, June 22nd and Thursday, July 13th.

Camp registration begins Wednesday, March 15 at 8:00 AM at the Center and in-person registrations receive highest priorities. Camp sessions fill quickly. For more information, visit the Audubon New Mexico website, www.nm.audubon.org, or call (505) 983-4609 for a camp brochure. Remember, Audubon New Mexico — Randall Davey Center members receive a camp tuition discount!

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
The Randall Davey Audubon Center without volunteers? Not possible! Pamela Sher will soon “retire” from her duties as a docent in the historic Randall Davey House and Studio where she has led tours for the past two years. For the past several months she has been our solo docent while another recovers from a broken ankle. A native of Chicago, Pamela moved to Santa Fe three years ago, drawn by the mountains, dry climate, clean air, a small city atmosphere and because New Mexico reminded her of Mexico, where she lived for sixteen years. Pamela’s passionate interest in culture and art was inspired by study in Chicago, Paris and Mexico City. The mother of four children, she soon will be a grandmother for the fifth time.

Pamela tells us that she chose to volunteer at the Randall Davey Center because this is such a beautiful property and she always has fun coming here. “The landscape is so different than where I live in Santa Fe.” She loves animals, so a nature sanctuary is a perfect place to give of her time and abundant spirit. She enjoys the staff the other volunteers and meeting the folks who join her on her tours. Her love of art comes through as she speaks about artist Randall Davey his work and his life in Santa Fe. Our visitors give her tours rave reviews.

Pamela will be spending rime taking care of new property she has purchased north of Santa Fe and with her grandchildren. Thank you Pamela for your dedication, laughter and marvelous presence!

If you have an interest in volunteering at the Center, please contact a member of the staff Volunteers greet visitors in the nature store, assist with education programs and special events, help us maintain the gardens and trails, anti serve as docents in the Randall Davey home and studio. Our thanks to all who give of their valuable time and energy in our community!

BIRDATHON IS UPON US!
Once again the energetic and talented Audubon New Mexico Birdathon Team will venture out during Spring migration to count as many species as possible in 24 hours and raise vital funds for our education and conservation activities around the state. We’ll be just one of hundreds of Audubon teams fanning out across the nation.

This year our ream will begin on Saturdays April 29 in the Sacramento Mountains near Cloudcroft searching for mountain birds, and then work our way toward Roswell for an afternoon at the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, keeping watch for prairie species on the way like Lesser Prairie Chickens. The following day we will “bird” at Rattlesnake Springs and the Lake Avalon/Brantley Lake area near Carlsbad. The incomparable Christopher Rustay will be our leader and we hope to spot over 100 species.

Please consider supporting the team with a generous pledge using the card at the bottom of the events schedule insert and the enclosed envelope. You may also donate a fixed amount. Your donation is fully tax-deductible and most appreciated!

Our thanks to RDAC volunteer Susan Winkler for donating this year’s Birdathon artwork!

3/13/06