THE PROJECT: New Mexico is one of the best states for birding, with over 500 species. Of the inland states, only Arizona has more species than New Mexico. On May 7-9, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance will have a birding event in Catron County. A county-wide bird survey will take place on Saturday, May 8, as part of the North American Migration Count (NAMC) efforts in the state. Since this survey began in 1994, counts have been conducted in all the counties of New Mexico except for two, and Catron is one.

We will meet at noon on May 7 at a central location in the county and do some birding. On Saturday we will break into smaller groups and count birds in different parts of the county. People interested can contact Steve West (stevewest@nmwild.org) for the area they will be covering. Some people may want to travel the day before and get settled into the area in which they will be counting birds. On May 8 we will count birds across the county, covering as much of the county as possible. These numbers will be compiled and reported as part of the NAMC survey. Our goal is to get as good a picture as possible of spring migration in Catron County. This will be the biggest birding event ever to take place in Catron County and, of course, we’ll be watching for wolves!  

THE PLACE: Catron County

Meals: There will be a continental breakfast Saturday morning, and a NMWA Dutch oven specialty for dinner Saturday night.

Maximum participants: 50

Project leader: Steve West

REGISTER for this event; there is a $10.00 administrative fee due at registration.

Driving time: 4 hours from Albuquerque and 3 hours from Las Cruces