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INSTITUTE FOR FIELD ORNITHOLOGY

COLORADO BIRD COMMUNITY ECOLOGY: the San Luis Valley

6-10 June 2008
San Luis Valley, Colorado
Instructors: Ted Floyd & Bill Schmoker

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Join us in the beautiful San Luis Valley, straddling the border of Colorado and New Mexico. Although "just" a mountain valley, the San Luis Valley is larger than the state of Connecticut! In the course of our fieldwork, we will visit huge wetland complexes, austere deserts, and high mountains, where you will learn to make sense of the patterns and processes at work in whole communities of birds: waterfowl and waders in the wetlands; sparrows and thrashers in the deserts; and finches and flycatchers in the mountains.

What causes communities to have the avian constituents that they do? What factors limit membership in bird communities? How do member species partition the resources in their communities? And another, inescapable question: How is bird community ecology affected by humans? The San Luis Valley presents a fascinating and challenging opportunity for studying the avian–human interface in a culturally, politically, and biologically complex landscape. As an added bonus, we will study with and learn from staff of The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, an organization with an extensive and vital commitment to the San Luis Valley.

The Birds
Our goal for the workshop is emphatically not to generate a large bird list, but we will nonetheless be able to sample broadly from the surprisingly speciose avifauna that calls the San Luis Valley home. In the remotest desert outposts (the ones we are specifically targeting!), we will make the acquaintance of such species as Sage Thrasher and Sage Sparrow. The desert wetlands will be teeming with American Avocets, Cinnamon Teal, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and scores of other species. The foothills harbor Gray Flycatcher and Juniper Titmouse, and the high mountains are home to Pine Grosbeak and Williamson's Sapsucker.

A key aspect to the mystique of the San Luis Valley is its capacity to surprise. The valley has actually received surprisingly little work from field ornithologists, and several apparent range expansions into the valley have not been properly documented. We will be conducting primary scientific research as we attempt to confirm the recent establishment in the valley of Chihuahuan Ravens, to document the first arrivals of invading Black Phoebes, and to clarify the problematic status of several desert thrasher species in the valley. And you never know when a Peregrine Falcon will zoom by, or a Black Swift, or a flock of White-winged Crossbills.

INSTRUCTOR

The lead instructors for Bird Community Ecology in the San Luis Valley are Ted Floyd and Bill Schmoker. Both Bill and Ted are educators with many years' experience, and both of them have taught IFO workshops in the past. Ted is Editor of Birding and a prolific writer about birds and the environment. Bill is President of Colorado Field Ornithologists and a well-known bird photographer with photo credits in many major magazines and field guides. Bill and Ted are key figures in the Colorado field ornithological community, and they share a keen interest in birding off the beaten path—for example, in the San Luis Valley.

Bill and Ted will be assisted by Betsy Neely, Senior Conservation Planner with The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. Betsy will join us both in the field and in the classroom, and will share with us her expert knowledge and insight into the intriguing and sobering array of challenges facing avian and other natural communities in the San Luis Valley. We will also be joined by a staff member from the ABA's Conservation & Education Department, to provide logistical support and general good cheer.

WORKSHOP LOCATION

Little known, even among those who live in Colorado, the San Luis Valley is a place of striking beauty. It is bounded on the east by the 14,000-foot summits of the Sangre de Cristo range, and on the west by yet additional "fourteeners" in the spooky, snow-laden San Juan range.

We will be lodging at The Nature Conservancy's Medano-Zapata Ranch, nestled in the foothills of the towering Sangre de Cristo mountains. The cabins and grounds are utterly bewitching, and there will be the temptation to linger long among the many species of vireos, flycatchers, corvids, warblers, owls, and others that breed in the immediate vicinity of the ranch headquarters. But adventure afield will lure us away, as we will spend one full day in each of the following three major ecosystems of the San Luis Valley: desert, wetland, and high mountains. Early-evening classroom instruction will be conducted in modern conference facilities at the Medano-Zapata Ranch.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Depending on what part of the valley you are in, the floor ranges from 7,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level. So you are in for a high-elevation experience. Expect chill air in the nighttime, brilliant sunshine by day, strong winds anytime, and maybe snow at the higher elevations. The pace of the course will be one of "casual intensity." We will commence field studies at dawn on the first and third full days of the workshop, and we will get underway well before dawn on the second day. Expect to be outside, both in the cool morning air and in the hot afternoon sun, for 8–10 hours per day.

WORKSHOP PRICES

$1849
Single Room Supplement: $105

Includes ground transportation during the workshop, lodging and all meals (provided at the Medano-Zapata Ranch). Workshop is limited to 14 participants.

A Final Thought
The San Luis Valley is an unforgettable signpost along the proverbial "road less traveled." It is, in many ways, a disquieting place—economically depressed and ecologically damaged. But is also, in even more ways, a place of wonder and encouragement—home to some of the most sublime scenery and bounteous birdlife in North America. We cannot guarantee you an entirely predictable "Cape May" or "South Texas" birding experience. Instead, we guarantee a powerful and permanent learning experience.

ABA Institute for Field Ornithology, ABA
4945 N 30th St, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80919
719/578-9703 x235 . fax 719/578-1480 . ifo@aba.org