In the fall of 1997, I had the opportunity to begin working for HawkWatch International as the field educator at their Manzano Mountain Raptor Migration Site in New Mexico, approximately 60 miles from Albuquerque.
Me (weird hat) with a red tail, and Chris with a male kestral doing some educating in the Manzanos. Most of my time was spent waiting for visitors at observation. When they would arrive, I would introduce them to what we were doing and why we were doing it, then I would point out some landmarks so that they could help observe. When a bird was caught, I would then run down to North Blind, stuff it in a can and carry it back to observation to give the visitors a close look at it and briefly discuss some of the morpholigical and ecological facts about the bird that are only evident when seen in the hand.
Sandia Educator Chris Wagner with an adult Coopers Hawk. HawkWatch has two field seasons in New Mexico, one in the fall in the Manzano Mountains (which is when I worked as Field Educator), and again in the spring in the Sandia Mountains, right outside of Albuquerque. The 1998 spring season brought out Chris Wagner, who did a fantastic job making the arduous climb up the mountain to the blind look like a stroll in the park! Jon Larrabee releasing a Prairie Falcon in the Manzanos. By dar, the most rewarding part of the job was releasing the birds back into the wild. Every time I heard the word "RELEASE!" bellowed from one of the blinds, my heart would leap into my throat and my eyes would scan the skies for the bird that was just let go. Most of the time when I brought a bird up to observation, I tried to get one of the visitors to find the courage to release it. It's quite a sight to see a a wide-eyed 12 year old holding a Cooper's Hawk as far from their body as possible, then throwing it into the air, their mouth hanging open as they realize what they just did!