Boletin Audubon
July 2008
Newsletter Archives

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

July Events

3 pm, Tuesday, July 15: General Meeting followed by Don Patterson Talk on San MIguel's Ecological Future, Santa Ana Theater, Biblioteca

Walking with the Birds and with Fen Taylor

Raptors of the World Unite This Fall Again

AT LAST! A BIRD BOOK TAKES FLIGHT

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Audubon Hosts Green Fund Presentation by Don Patterson

Are you curious about the environment and long term water supply for San Miguel?
Have you heard about the GREEN FUND? Right after a brief general assembly meeting on Tuesday, July 15th at 3 pm at the Santa Ana theater, Audubon is hosting an informative presentation by Don Patterson, one of the officials concerned about the environment and water for the city of San Miguel and its environs. Don is Director of Ecology & the Environment for San Miguel and would like to share his long term ecology and water strategies and the advances in his projects with us. To learn more (and to vote on new by-laws if you're a member), including how you can help, come to the Audubon presentation on Tuesday July 15th to the Santa Ana Theater in the Biblioteca. Don will present an overview of the Green Fund; its history, legal aspects, and how we apply the funds to projects in San Miguel's environment, the city's water problems and what is being done to solve them.

The city has some funding for this work from the state and the federal government and Mayor Correa has also created a Green Fund, which includes contributions from real estate developers in the community. All fines and fees, including your automobile emissions fee, go into the green fund.

Patterson is excited to share the advances they have made with the Green Fund; monies allocated to assist in making positive changes in the environment. 


Some of the complex issues he deals with "require immediate action," he says. Others are more long-range but equally crucial and must be dealt with soon. For example, Patterson says, our aquifer is predicted to have trouble supplying water to the community within twenty years. When the aquifer (a limited supply of 25,000 year old water) is no longer viable, then San Miguel will have to rely on surface water. And "if we're going to be drinking lake water, we need to clean it up."

Don told us that the city government has a diagnostic analysis of the watershed in Los Picachos (one of the important parts of San Miguel's watershed). They have been working on analyses and plans for other areas. "We have to rehabilitate the watershed so that we will have the purest water possible," he says.

One way of thinking about Patterson's focus is what he terms
"bio-hydraulic corridors", (a phrase that he uses to include surface and ground water systems as well as their flora and fauna). He is also working on "rainwater harvesting", with Ecosystemscience Foundation, in the communities with the worst contaminates. These are manmade systems for collecting, filtering, storing and distributing rainwater. "For every liter we harvest from rain," he says, "one less liter is taken from the aquifer." And of course, rainwater has no arsenic or fluoride to contaminate children's diets and rot their teeth. The city has been looking into filters that can remove contaminants from water.

Two years ago, San Miguel signed an agreement with the United Nations, to become one of 100 green cities. "We're starting from scratch here", he said. "San Miguel is only one percent green--the international norm is nine percent." But they're working on it; a master plan for a green corridor including Parque Landeta is coming up soon.

Audubon is planning to help Patterson and San Miguel to achieve the environmental and water goals that are so essential for the town's future. Obviously our goals of improved education and habitat restoration coincide with those of the municipality. Audubon's slogan; "We're not just for the birds" tells our story.

Patterson, who recognizes Audubon as one of the larger NGOs in town, says, "If you have the good name of Audubon on a document, it helps."
He himself says of Audubon, "I look at you and I see an army."

To hear and see a man who's making a difference in San Miguel, come to the Santa Ana Theater at the Biblioteca on Tuesday, July 15th, 3pm. Audubon members enjoy free admission. Guests pay 50 pesos each. Membership will be available at the door for $300pesos.

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Walking with the Birds and with Fen Taylor

This month's Birdwalk is scheduled for July 20th, the third Sunday of the month. We will be led once again by Fen Taylor and we will be going to a new area near Atotonilco. Eastern Meadowlarks, blue grosbeaks, vermilion flycatchers greeted us at a preview walk in idyllic scenery along an arroyo and next to fields. 

We're hoping the birds will be equally cooperative on this hike, which is usually one of our best-attended ones. 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. 

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. Getting up early for these walks is well worth the effort. Not only will you see great birds but enjoy the comaraderie of new friends as well. Please bring a hat and drinking water. Binoculars and bird books make bird sightings more interesting, but they are not necessary since we hope to have our new Bird Booklets ready from the printer! Anyone willing to contribute transportation will be welcomed with great appreciation. The hike is usually over by noon.

People with questions may call Linda Whynman at 152-2139.

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Raptors of the World Unite This Fall Again
by Carol Wheeler

For the second year in a row, Audubon San Miguel is offering the River of Raptors Tour to Veracruz, led by Pronatura Veracruz. The event is a five-day happening, from September 27th to October 2nd. Because 2007 participants had such a splendid time, those in the know will sign up early for the trip this year, since there is room for only ten tourgoers at a time.

The River of Raptors, which takes place in Veracruz every fall, is known to experts as "the greatest migration spectacle in the world." Every year, the Pronatura monitoring team counts well over five million migrating raptors, such as hawks and vultures--over 25 species in all. The trip also follows and finds and views the great variety of resident birds in the region. Pronatura has compiled a list of over 540 species in central Veracruz. Many beautiful butterflies flit by too, all identified by Pronatura's expert and friendly guides.

The Audubon/Pronatura trip also offers an opportunity to visit the impressive colonial city of Xalapa, capital city of Veracruz, which is an outstanding bird-watching site as well as a tourist destination of major interest. An easy, pleasant, guided hike in Macuiltepetl Park, a large and beautiful area in the city, is also an excellent birding opportunity, especially for spotting mixed warbler flocks and several endemic species such as Blue Mockingbird, Crescent-chested Warbler and Beryline Hummingbird. The Xalapa Museum of Anthropology, though of course smaller, rivals Mexico City's in its beauty, the interest of its offerings, and its accessibility. Tourgoers will visit the museum, which is particularly well-known for its collection of Olmec heads, with an expert guide.

One morning of the tour features a visit to a low-forest ecosystem, perhaps the best site to spot the White-bellied Wren and the Mexican Shear-tail, followed by a brunch prepared by Chavarrillo community members just for the group. Travel throughout is in a luxury bus offering every comfort and the trip is planned so that road trips are not overly long. 

The second town where the tour stays is Cardel, which is directly on the route of the raptor migration. Pronatura has an observatory on roof of the hotel where tourgoers stay. The Cardel visit includes side trips to La Mancha, an area of coastal wetlands with high bird diversity, andp a river tri to La Antigua, the site where Cortez first arrived in America, including the remains of his original home and the first church in Continental America. Here, in addition to migrating birds, one can expect to see the Fork-tailed Flycatcher and the Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher. Tourgoers will also be treated to brunch at the spectacular Haciendo El Lencero, where President Santa Ana lived.

For more information about the River of Raptors tour, interested birders may call Linda Whynman, Audubon's president, at 152-2139, or e-mail her at vellum1@mac.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.