Avian Awareness Training

Did you ever wonder who or what might be staying in the room next door at your hotel? I'll bet you never imagined that it might be a few hawks, a couple of owls, and a crow! Well, that is exactly what was spending the night in southern New Mexico hotel earlier this week. You can see the tons of sheets and towels covering the area surrounding the ferruginous and Swainson's hawk that night.

Gail Garber and Kristin Madden traveled to Artesia with a vanload of birds to participate in an avian protection training session for utility workers. What a wonderful event it was! All 6 birds were perched around the room for the duration of the session. The crow happily accepted grapes and hard-boiled egg from one gentleman. Our Swainson's hawk captivated everyone at the end of the program when she caught mice tossed by another gentleman and chowed them down right in front of everyone.

The linemen that attended the session were wonderful. They were all interested in meeting the birds and learning more about compliance with the laws and the development of avian protection plans. A few myths were dispelled and everyone had a great sense of humor. In spite of the dry nature of some of the topics covered that day, the faces of the audience lit up when we talked about the birds and shared something about their individual personalities.

After a delicious lunch at a restaurant that was clearly a local favorite, Gail & Kristin headed home. Pulling into Albuquerque around 6:20 p.m., they congratulated each other on arriving home early enough to put birds back in their mews (raptor cage) before dark. They obviously spoke far too soon. What they encountered was one of the worst traffic jams they could remember. Finally, arriving at an exit, they ditched the freeway and south another way across the river. Every crossing was packed! Neither of them arrived home before 8 p.m. It was a very long day.