On March 25, 2009, one of the Lincoln County Bird Club members made a trip to the Bitter Lake Refuge. He spotted 25 species of ducks, marsh birds, gulls, terns, shorebirds, and hawks. Quite a busy day. Next time he hopes to catch the American Bittern. This is a good time to see many of these birds before they migrate elsewhere for the summer.

(photo).

There will be a book party on May 16, 2009 to celebrate the achievement of two Lincoln County Bird Club members. A past member, Lyn Kidder, and a local celebrity, Herb Brunell, have collaborated on a book about Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs. It is a compilation of pictures and stories of this area back ‘in the day’. You can contact this site to find out how to obtain copies.

Have you a quail on your automobile? Well all you have to do is contact the NM Motor Vehicle Department to obtain a license plate that helps promote and fund critical programs for New Mexico wildlife, especially species that do not receive funding elsewhere. You can get more information from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish website http://wildlife.state.nm.us under the "Conservation" tab. Or you can call the MVD at 1-888-683-4636.

THE HUMMINGBIRDS ARE COMING!

It is not too early to begin thinking about this season's influx of hummingbirds, which typically start arriving around the middle of March. Even though the weather may be unsettled, put out your feeders! Hummers have arrived and stayed through spring snow storms! Have an extra feeder in the house to put out if your outside feeder freezes on those still cold nights. You may want to first put just water in your feeders to attract the hummingbirds, and then change to sugar water when you hear the first trill of a male broadtail.

Hummingbird food

Use 4 parts water to 1 part cane table sugar for your hummingbird food. Warm to dissolve the sugar, and store in the refrigerator. Do not add food coloring or use other sweeteners! If bees are a problem, try 5 or 6 parts water to 1 part sugar. Change the food in your feeder frequently, 1 or 2 times per week in cooler weather, everyday in hot weather. Nectar plants are also a great way to attract hummingbirds. In our location, try columbines, penstemons, Indian paintbrush, larkspur, honeysuckle, sages, fuchsia, or any other plant with tubular flowers. Hummingbirds need a protective habitat; provide bushes, trees, or other natural shelter for resting and their overnight "hibernation".

Feeding Hummingbirds

Male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds arrive first from Mexico and points south in March, followed by female broad-tails, and will stay and breed here the entire summer. Rufous Hummingbirds will arrive in July, migrating from their breeding grounds in the northwest. Now the battle for the feeders will begin! Hang several feeders close together to try to avoid having the feisty male rufous hummers take over! In this area you will also see Black-chinned, the diminutive Calliope, and the occasional Magnificent Hummingbird, one of the largest hummers seen in our area. Watch for the rare albino hummers which have been seen in the area. And be sure not to confuse the sphinx moth with a hummer.

Joan Day-Martin is New Mexico's only licensed Hummingbird bander. She has several presentations and banding events this spring and summer. If you are interested in attending any of them check out her website, www.hbnm.org or call 1-888-536-4266. The Lincoln County Bird Club is a member of the Hummingbirds of New Mexico and as such support her efforts to study and preserve hummingbirds of New Mexico.

Chipping Sparrow (drawing)

A GREAT PLACE FOR BIRDING

The Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex Bernardo Area, south of Belen, north of U.S. 60, is an easy stop off I25. Recent improvements include adding roofs and screening to three elevated observation decks. And there are a three-mile auto loop and two short hiking trails. Expect to see thousands of snow geese and sandhill cranes in the cultivated dry fields, and more than a dozen species of ducks in the flooded areas and ponds. The best times for viewing are mid-November to early February, so get on up there! New Mexico Game and Fish, Volume 52, Number 2, includes a map of the area and information on the complex.

National Birding Hotline Cooperative

If you want another National Birding hotline to keep you up-to-date on the latest sightings, try the National Birding Hotline Cooperative. Regional editors post weekly lists from various parts of the Nation including New Mexico. The best way to find this site is to do a search on the Internet and bookmark the results.

Audubon biologists recently examined combined data from the world's longest-running uninterrupted bird census, Audubon's Christmas Bird Count (CBC), and the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) to issue a report on the status of common US birds. The result was that in the past 40 years the average population of some common birds has fallen by 70 percent. These alarming findings are of particular concern because of the wide variety of birds affected. The full Audubon report may be found at www.audubon.org or your local library may have a copy of Audubon magazine for July �V August 2007. The article lists in greater detail the status of each listed species, threats, percentage of decline, and outlook for its survival. It also has suggestions as to what each of us may do to aid in stopping this loss by supporting various agencies and groups involved in this effort as well as personal actions. Some are as simple as participating in the annual Christmas Bird Count and taking good care of your feeders. You may find one or more of your favorite birds on the ��Top Twenty�� list. Below is the list in order of loss of population: 1. Northern Bobwhite, 2. Evening Grosbeak, 3. Northern Pintail, 4. Greater Scaup, 5. Boreal Chickadee, 6. Eastern Meadowlark, 7. Common Tern, 8. Loggerhead Shrike, 9. Field Sparrow, 10. Grasshopper Sparrow, 11. Snow Bunting, 12. Black-throated Sparrow, 13. Lark Sparrow, 14. Common Grackle, 15. American Bittern, 16. Rufous Hummingbird, 17. Whip-poor-will, 18. Horned Lark, 19. Little Blue Heron, and 20. Ruffed Grouse. The blame for some of the above possibly falls to neglectful care of home bird feeders. Bird feeders should be disinfected with bleach every two weeks. Few people do this and as a result, diseases are spread to our feathered friends just as colds spread through a kindergarten classroom. Aspergillosis, a mold that can form on old or damp seed, makes birds lose weight and have trouble breathing and walking.

Goldfinch (photo)

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