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Boletin Audubon
January 2008
Newsletter Archives
The Newsletter of Sociedad Audubon de México, A.C.
Events for January
Tuesday, February 5, Bob Graham presents
"Monarch Butterflies, Back By Popular Demand" at 4 p.m. at Villa Jacaranda
FIRST TRIP OF THE
YEAR: February 5 & 6, to Tolantongo.
SIGN UP NOW! (more below)
AUDUBON BENEFIT FEBRUARY 17
If you care about the special beauty and charm of San Miguel de Allende, you won’t want to miss the very special Gala Benefit Brunch on Sunday, February 17, from 12 noon to 4 pm by Audubon Mexico. The event is being held in support of PEASMA( proyecto educacion ambientale de San Miguel de Allende), our town’s much-respected and very successful approach to educating the next generation about its responsibility as stewards of its own environment.
Besides environmental education, love is the theme of Audubon’s brunch. Love for San Miguel's much-admired colonial style (the brunch is at the Hyder House, famous for its unique blending of several fine old houses into one splendid location), love for one's significant other (show how you feel by taking your S.O. to this event three days after Valentine's Day), lovebirds (a regular Audubon theme), and most overwhelmingly, love for San Miguel and its environment, the most fragile of all these love objects.
The object of the event is to celebrate our environment and all the people in it--young, old, gringo, Mexican and everything in between, by supporting the San Miguel program that teaches schoolchildren how to respect, preserve and enjoy their natural surroundings.
Last year, PEASMA gave regular programs in 28 urban schools and two schools in the campo, introducing more than eight thousand children to environmental education through workshops about birds, air, water, flora and fauna. PEASMA also helps the children's classroom teachers to coordinate environmental lessons with regular classroom work on an ongoing basis. PEASMA's program has been so successful that its staff has been asked by state officials to expand the program all across the state of Guanajuato.
In addition to working during the school year, PEASMA’s dedicated teachers spend summers on the environment. In the summer of 2007, Audubon sponsored an environmental summer camp for children in the ranchos outside of town, giving them a rare opportunity for hands-on environmental learning.
So come and drink champagne and eat lox and bagels while you listen to music by the Bobby Kaplan Trio and watch "Birds of Paradise," a Barbara Porter fashion show around the pool at the Hyder House. The price of helping save San Miguel's environment through its next generation is $100 USD a ticket, which includes a year's membership ($30) in Audubon Mexico. Tickets are on sale in the jardin and at La Conexion, as well as through Audubon board members. Call Bob Haas at 152-0804 or 044-415- 153-3333 for more information.
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"Monarch Butterflies, Back
By Popular Demand"
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On Tuesday February 5th. at 4:00 PM, on behalf of the Sociedad Audubon de México, A.C, Bob Graham, retired naturalist from "Parks Canada," will present for the second time this year his celebrated slide show, "Monarchs; Butterflies without Borders," at the Villa Jacaranda, Aldama 53. In it not only will he feature this nearly unbelievable migration but he will also detail the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly and highlight some of the problems facing the very survival of this Endangered Phenomenon. |
Scientists believe that Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) belong to a family whose evolutionary origins are tropical. None of this family is able to tolerate freezing at any stage of their life cycle. Nevertheless, over tens of thousands of years, Monarchs have extended their breeding territory into the extensive milkweed fields of the United States and Canada. Each fall, like many Canadians and Americans, Monarchs abandon their northern homes and head south. What triggers this exodus among Monarchs is uncertain, but decreasing hours of daylight and cooler temperatures probably play a major role.
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The migration of birds and mammals is incredible enough. But that a tiny, delicate Monarch Butterfly should migrate, having neither bulk nor seemingly sufficient brainpower for the navigation required in such a monumental journey, is quite astounding. A number of other species of butterflies are known to migrate, but none, other than the Monarch, travels so far, in such great numbers, over such a long distance, or to such a precise destination.
Their over-wintering site is high in the mountains that make up the Sierra de Angengueo, in the State of Michoacan, only a half-day's drive south of San Miguel de Allende.
migrations in the world!
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For some monarchs, the journey from their northern breeding sites to their over-wintering haven spans much of North America. As such, it is one of the most perilous and spectacular
Tickets (50 pesos) can be purchased the afternoon of the presentation. The proceeds will go to the Sociedad Audubon de México A.C. The Sociedad would like to thank the Villa Jacaranda for the use of their Cine/bar theatre and Bob Graham for his fascinating presentation. For additional information please call Bob at 154-9856.
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Audubon January Birdwalk
Audubon’s next Birdwalk is scheduled for January 20th, the third Sunday of the month. It is slated to go to the bridge at Montecillo de Nieto where, in the past, we have had great success spotting some of the region’s more elusive birds, such as Blue Grosbeaks, Black-headed Grosbeaks and Summer Tanagers, just to mention a few.
Our December Birdwalk took 19 participants to the Botanical Gardens where we saw some 41 species. Many of these birds were very cooperative, sitting still long enough to allow us to get the scope on them, so that all got great views.
We're hoping the birds will be equally cooperative in January, which is usually one of our best-attended hikes. That being the case, transportation is key to our being able to go to this location. Therefore, we ask that participants with vehicles please be sure to bring them. Failing sufficient transportation, we will return instead to the Botanical Gardens as we can use taxis to get there.
The Audubon Birdwalk is a monthly event open to members and non-members alike. Members of Audubon de México are welcome gratis. Non-members are also
welcome, but asked to contribute 100 pesos, or US $10 to the ecological projects in which Audubon is involved.
Participants will meet in front of the Instituto Allende at 8am, as the trip will leave promptly at 8:15 am. Please bring a hat and drinking water. Binoculars and bird books make bird sightings more interesting, but they are not necessary since others will have books and we will have a scope. Anyone willing to contribute transportation will be welcomed with great appreciation. The hike is usually over by noon.
People with questions may call Bob Graham at 154-9856.
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Tolantongo Revisited, or the glory days are here again
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Last year, if you hadn't gone on the Audubon trip to Tolantongo and you knew someone who had, you heard nothing but how wonderful it was. You were convinced you had missed a remarkable couple of days and you hoped it would happen again. Good news! Bruce and Mary Carruth are doing a re-play of that much-praised event, on February 5th and 6th of 2008. |
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It isn't every day that you have the chance to re-play and correct an old omission, but here it is (for a lucky few--Bruce and Mary can only take ten people along, so call early). Tolantongo, in Hidalgo, is about three and a half hours from San Miguel. Its high point (no pun intended) is a gorge with an altitude drop of about 3,000 feet to a river fed by hot springs, many grottoes for exploring and hanging out. There's a hike to an upper falls area fed by hot waterfalls , great pools for swimming, a hike down to the river through a tropical hillside thick with fruit and nut trees, several river crossings and wonderful hillside pools fed by hot springs. All this lushness is surrounded by beautiful, far-reaching vistas. |
Get a preliminary taste of the spectacular beauty awaiting visitors to Tolantongo at www. tolantongo.com.mx. The web site is in Spanish, the pictures are accessible in any language.
Caution: The trip involves real hiking; some trails are steep and one river crossing (optional, luckily) is in waist-deep water with a moderate current. The nearest medical care is at least an hour away; there's limited telephone access and none to the internet, and the one restaurant is basic if delicious, with a limited variety of foods. Participants are expected to carry their own supplies and gear and to help in food prep and clean-up. |
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The trip costs $160 per person and will leave at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, the 5th, and return at 5:30 Wednesday afternoon. Drivers with cars are needed and each driver receives $40 per passenger and pays $40 less than the tour fee. Lodgings are in a hotel on the cliff side of the site and provide double occupancy. A single supplement is $30 extra. Lunch and dinner on the first day and lunch on the second are at participants' expense, but there will be a late afternoon snack the first day and breakfast on the second included in the trip cost.
Bruce and Mary will host a pre-trip get-together when the trip is full, so hikers can get to know each other in advance of this glorious event. |
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AT LAST! A BIRD BOOK WILL SOON TAKE 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 coming! Audubon is at work right now on a field guide to our abundant,
beautiful local birds. The guide will follow the style of
Flores Silvestres de San Miguel de Allende, the wonderfully successful and useful field guide to our local wildflowers that appeared in 2006—sized to fit in a pocket, with full-color pictures and brief descriptions of each bird (and a ruler on the back). We’re hoping to have it available some time this year.
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