Boletin Audubon
August 2008
Newsletter Archives

The Newsletter of Sociedad Audubon de México, A.C.

August Events

August 31--Deadline for artists, architects and designers to sign up for Casitas de Aves art auction (see below)

8 am, August 17, Walking with the Birds and with Fen Taylor

3 pm, Tuesday, August 19: Butterflies of El Charco del Ingenio, presented in pictures and words by Wayne Colony, Santa Ana Theater, Biblioteca

10 am, Saturday, August 23: Butterfly walk led by Wayne Colony, El Charco del Ingenio

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Enjoy a Birdwalk with Fen Taylor August 17th

Audubon conducts a birdwalk on the third Sunday of every month for the pleasure of its members. Non-members are welcome with a donation of 100 pesos. We venture to special locations for birding in the San Miguel area. The hikes are approximately 3 – 4 hours long The two principal sites visited are the Charco del Ingenio and a bridge over the Río Laja in Montecillo de Nieto. This month's walk will be to the beautiful countryside on the outskirts of town .The walks originate at 8:00 a.m. Participants should meet at the entrance to the Instituto Allende. Cars are available but more are welcome. It is an easy drive. 

Bring water and binoculars. The beautiful new Audubon birding booklets are available for $50 pesos.

Audubon is always looking for guest birders to lead walks, as well. 

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Local Butterflies on Display at Audubon Presentation in the Biblioteca

By Carol Wheeler

Mexico is well known for its rich history, from the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan to the colonial cities and churches of San Miguel del Allende and Atontinilco. But Mexico is also a land with a rich natural history and a biodiversity of flora and fauna equaled by few other countries in the world. Of the 17,000 butterfly species world-wide, 1,063 are found in Mexico, most in the hot and humid lowlands of Chiapas, Yucatan and the Pacific and Gulf coasts.

But lepidopterists - scientists who specialize in the study of butterflies and moths - have also found a surprising number of species in the cool, dry highlands such as the state of Guanajuato. And although visitors to San Miguel rarely notice them, we have many beautiful and fascinating species right in our own gardens and parks. A great upcoming opportunity to see San Miguel’s butterflies on display is the presentation by Wayne Colony on Tuesday, August 19, at the Teatro Santa Ana in the Biblioteca at 3 pm, which is this month’s Audubon de Mexico offering. 

For the past two years Wayne Colony and his wife Susan have recorded and photographed hundreds of species of butterflies (and their "little brothers," the skippers) in the municipality of San Miguel and especially within the boundaries of the botanical garden El Charco del Ingenio. Some, like the magnificent Mexican Kite-Swallowtail, were easy to find (once they learned the surprising place to look for them!) while others, like the astoundingly patterned Bumblebee Metalmark, were tracked down with a lot of patience and some luck. Wayne's photographs of these beauties and many more can be enjoyed in comfort at the Santa Anna Teatro on August 19. His lecture will cover many aspects of the world of butterflies - their life cycle, host plants, migrations - and tips on how to find and photograph them. 

Also, as a special Part Two for those who want to see living, flying butterflies up-close, Wayne will also lead a real live Butterfly Walk in El Charco on Saturday, August 23 at 10:00AM.

Wayne, a retired geologist, didn't plan to become a nature photographer when he and his wife moved to San Miguel five years ago, but after helping botanical expert Walter Meagher with an inventory of the vascular plants of El Charco, it was only natural to continue their association and they have recently published a book titled "Wild and Wonderful: Nature Up Close in the the Botanical Garden El Charco del Ingenio, San Miguel de Allende" with text by Meagher and photos by Colony. Copies of the book will be available at the lecture for purchase, and of course Wayne will sign them. 

Audubon’s monthly presentations are free to members. Admission to non-members is 50 pesos. Membership will be available at the door on August 19 for 300 pesos for an entire year, and that membership opens myriad other activities to those who join.

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Audubon, Charco Casitas des Aves auction plans take flight

By Carol Wheeler

Tweet tweet and yum yum were bird words heard in the background this week as El Charco del Ingenio and Audubon de Mexico, San Miguel's two major environmental/ecological NGOs, called for San Miguel artists, architects and designers to create bird houses and bird feeders for an art auction, Casitas des Aves, to raise money for both organizations. 

The live event, preceded by a silent auction and accompanied by botanas and bebidas, will take place at the Charco on February 15th, 2009, with famed "insider artist" Anado McLauchlin as auctioneer (as well as a creator). The deadline for creators to sign up is August 31, 2008.

Casitas de Aves will be the first time the two organizations have cooperated on a benefit, although they have recently worked together on other projects more ecological in nature. LInda Whynman, president of Audubon, who said "We didn't want the same old cocktail party," points out that the two organizations "share the same vision" of preserving San Miguel's natural environment. Also, events like this are very expensive to bring off and, as Naomi Zerriffi, who is heading the event for the Charco, says, "It just makes very good sense" to cooperate on these things. Both groups look forward to more cooperation in the future.

The concept of designing houses and feeders has captured the imagination of a great many local artistic types. "We've already had a huge response," Zerriffi says. Whynman adds, "It's a great opportunity for artists to showcase their talents." The bird structures themselves must be completed by December 15th, so that they can be photographed and displayed way in advance of the event, via web sites, newspaper articles, and the auction program, which will list the artists with their e-mail and web site.

Participating artists will be asked to submit a minimum bid price; although of course all proceeds will go to the two organizations. There is a way for non-artists to take part in the event, too: sponsorships are available for the event, in categories from Nest Egg ($3,000 USD) to Just Ducky ($100 USD). Sponsors' names will be featured in publicity and in the Casitas de Aves program for the event.

For information and for details, artists and/or sponsors may call or e-mail Alice Sperling at 154-7177 or alicesperling@hotmail.com; Linda Whynman at 152-2139 or vellum1@mac.com; or Naomi Zerriffi at 154-9553 or nzerriffi@yahoo.com

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AT LAST! A BIRD BOOK TAKES FLIGHT

As a bird watcher, an environmentalist or just an appreciator of nature, you wouldn’t be the first person to wish there were a field guide to the birds of San Miguel—and to be disappointed when you found it didn’t exist. Your time is here! Audubon has just completed a field guide to our abundant, beautiful local birds. The first run of these guides sold out at the birdwalk this month. The guide follows the identification originally conceived by Fen Taylor...A walk in Charco. Accompanied with beautiful photos by Wayne Colony and new text by Susan Colony, this guide is a must have. Printed with full-color pictures and brief descriptions of each bird, the guide will help you to identify and to become familiar with the wonderful bird life around us. 50 pesos. Guides are available on bird walks and at post offices in town.