Mesilla Valley Audubon Society

11/05/2026

From the Friends of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Roswell — this is a great event for the whole family! A beautiful 3.5 hour drive from Las Cruces!

Join us November 14th, 2026 for Cranes and Cocoa! Starting at 3pm, we will host a presentation by Jim Montgomery, a renowned crane expert, before heading out on the refuge to see the sandhill cranes momentarily calling the refuge home.

11/02/2026

The Hallow-wing Bird Walk, hosted by MVAS in conjunction with El Paso Audubon Group and sponsored by Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, was an un-boo-lievable 👻 success!

Costumed birders walked along the La Cueva and Arroyo Trails, led by Star Estrella Bird of Siempre Birds and Jennifer Atchley Montoya of MVAS.

Spooky quail, scary owls 🦉, and other hauntingly beautiful creatures prowled the Dripping Springs Natural Area, Organ Mountains looking for winter migrants and resident birds...

The winner of "best eye-candy of the morning" was a gorgeous flock of Western Bluebirds 🐦 and a Red-naped Sapsucker. (A few claimed to see witches zooming around on brooms, but we couldn’t find the eBird entry for that...)

Thank you bird walk leaders and thanks to the Friends for sponsoring an event that was more fun (and with just as much of a rush) than a pillowcase full of candy! 🍭

10/31/2026

Who needs the Great Pumpkin when you have a male Baltimore Oriole? 🎃

Happy Halloween from the Mesilla Valley Audubon Society!

Photo credit | Jay Wilbur, MVAS CBC compiler

10/29/2026

A Thursday funny as we slide toward the weekend!

10/25/2026

💫 MVAS out in the community! 💫

Several MVAS members spent a beautiful Saturday talking to folks about the wonder of birds 🦅at the Organ Mountains Jubilee at Dripping Springs Natural Area, Organ Mountains.

Cheryl Fallstead (MVAS president), Judy Wilbur (MVAS treasurer), Jay Wilbur (MVAS CBC compiler), Teri Pease (MVAS member and regular at Sagecrest Park cleanups), and Carol Campbell (chair of the Bischoff scholarship committee) had a lovely morning visiting not only with people but with several Ruby-crowned Kinglets who flitted about and joined the party!

Thank you 🙏 to everyone who stopped by to say hello and learn more about birds and the wide variety of MVAS activities that you can be involved in!

Want to learn more? Visit mvasaudubon.org and stay tuned to our Facebook!

10/24/2026

MVAS in the news! 📰

👉🏼 The current edition of the The Las Cruces Bulletin features a conversation with Cheryl Fallstead, MVAS president, about nature journaling 🖋and the MVAS Nature Journal Club and the many more bird- and wildlife-focused activities of our chapter.

Enjoy!
https://www.lascrucesbulletin.com/stories/curiosity-in-the-wild,186649?

The animals weren't the only ones watching visitors at Alameda Park Zoo.  Members of the Mesilla Valley Audubon Society's Nature Journal Club spent Oct. 10 observing animals from around the world, including common marmosets, small monkeys...

10/22/2026

💖 Student research presentations are always an MVAS fan favorite! 💖

After all, it's a win-win! MVAS members get to learn about what's going on at the university in our backyard, and students have a friendly audience in front of which to practice presenting. 👩‍🏫

At last night's monthly meeting, three outstanding NMSU students presented on their research.

From the left:

Emma Varela, studying the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on the body condition of nestling Western Bluebirds at LANL;

Ella Engelhard, studying the impacts of precipitation and desertification on the breeding ecology of songbirds in the Chihuahuan Desert; and

Juliemar Cuevas-Hernandez, studying the impacts of desertification on the wintering passerine community in the Chihuahuan Desert.

(The adorable photo of baby WEBLs 🐦 is from Emma's slides.)

All of these students are from the NMSU Avian Migration Program! Check out the comments for more information and to find out where you can donate to support these and other students.

💚 Thank you Emma, Ella, and Juliemar! 💚

10/22/2026

We've received an urgent request from Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park for donations of bird seed and suet!

When you stop by and see our friends at Wild Birds Unlimited to pick up your bird-feeding supplies, pick up an extra and drop it off at MVBSP! Thank you!

10/20/2026

MVAS in the wild! 🌵

Past MVAS president Elaine was out at Dripping Springs Natural Area, Organ Mountains for a spot of R&R 🥾when she ran into Teri and Nancy, stalwart regulars for the MVAS Keep Las Cruces Beautiful (for the Birds!) Adopt-a-Spot cleanups 🗑 at Sagecrest Park.

Once a week, Teri and Nancy also help birds 🐦 and wildlife by volunteering to welcome visitors and help them have an outstanding (and even educational) experience on the trails at Dripping Springs.

Today's goal: Be like Nancy and Teri! What can YOU do for birds and wildlife today? 💚