D.F.O. Monthly Meeting
The Chihuahuan Desert: Critical Winter Habitat for Colorado Birds
Monday, November 23, 2009
As the last plaintive notes of bugling elk echo through mountain
valleys and November snow squalls threaten to blanket the streets and lawns of
Denver, Greg Levandoski, a research biologist for the Rocky Mountain Bird
Observatory (RMBO) will “transport” us south into the vastness of the
Chihuahuan desert.
The Chihuahuan desert is one of North America’s four major deserts and
spreads across 200,000 sparsely populated square miles from Albuquerque,
New Mexico, 750 miles south into the Mexican state of Zacatecas. In Mexico
this region lies between the Sierra Madre Occidental in the west and the
Sierra Madre Oriental in the east. In the U. S. it encompasses the
southeastern corner of Arizona, a portion of southern New Mexico, and a region
of west
Texas including the amazing Big Bend National Park. It is a relatively
high desert rising from 1,900 ft. to 5,500 ft. above sea level.
The Chihuahuan desert is known as a shrub desert which includes vast
regions of creosote bush, mesquite, yucca and agave, areas of prickly-pear
cactus and Mormon tea, acacias and ocotillo, and significant areas of
grassland.
We have all heard stories of scorpions, tarantulas, sidewinders and
Gila monsters, and of ocelots and javelina. And there are the roadrunners,
scaled quail (their range matches the desert’s range to a very large degree),
cactus wrens, elf owls, pyrrhuloxia, and painted buntings. But what of
the burrowing owls, the mountain bluebirds, Cassin’s kingbirds, and the
white-winged doves?
Many of Colorado’s birds, along with birds from across the Great
Plains, migrate south to their wintering grounds in the Chihuahuan desert.
Grassland birds are experiencing widespread population declines and are
considered the most threatened group of birds in North America. These species
face
many threats which are tied to habitat loss, environmental changes,
political whims, and economics. Greg will explain how he, RMBO, and many
Mexican
partners are working to better understand the needs of these birds and to
find potential solutions for conserving these threatened populations.
Greg has worked on a wide variety of research projects ranging from
monitoring nesting alcids in the Bering Sea, to counting migrating raptors
along ridge lines in the West, to chasing warblers through Caribbean thorn
forests. His search for a broad understanding of avian conservation needs has
led Greg to work in 15 U. S. states (10 western), 3 Mexican states, and
Jamaica.
Join DFO to hear about Greg’s work in the grasslands of the Chihuahuan
desert of northern Mexico and gain a better understanding of the
distribution and abundance of a part of North America’s wintering bird
populations.
December 2009
NO DFO MEETING. Please plan to participate in the Denver Christmas
Count and/or one of the many other Christmas Counts around the state!
January 25, 2010
The always popular Bill Schmoker, C.F.O. president, teacher, and
accomplished wildlife photographer will present us with a program which will “
lift you out of the mid-winter doldrums!”
The Denver Field Ornithologists monthly meetings are held in Ricketson
Auditorium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in City Park. These
meetings are free and open to the public and occur on the 4th Monday of each
month August through April (except December). Park on the north side of the
museum and walk around and enter through the museum's west door. Plan to
arrive by 7:15 p.m.; DOORS OPEN BY 7:00 AND ARE LOCKED AT 7:30 P.M. If late,
you
can enter through the security/volunteer door, but this does create
problems for our hosts at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
--
Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/
Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/
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