I write this on a sunny but frigid morning. Our newest avian ambassador, a peregrine falcon, perches next to me with one foot tucked up into his breast feathers next to the big window, where he can catch the morning rays and keep an eye on the songbirds feeding and bathing in my backyard. His name will likely be Cliff, in honor of where peregrines nest. Because one of our key missions is education, it is important that all of our educational birds have names that resonate with the elementary school children who participate in our Living with the Landscape program, a school-year-long program for Title 1 schools in the Albuquerque metro area. This year, the program is serving three schools in the southwest valley. It is one of the poorest communities, where many of our attendees are children of immigrants, and English is their second language.
In my wildest dreams, I never even considered that raptor rescue and education would be my calling! Like most kids, I had loved the outdoors when I was growing up in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Mom always set us free to roam far afield after breakfast, tethered only by her lunch schedule, which we dared not to miss.
I didn’t think much about the birds that surely surrounded us, as I was far more interested in childhood adventures. My passion for the outdoors continued into adulthood, and I became an avid (but mediocre) runner, hiker—and, eventually, quiltmaker.
The year was 1980 when my friends in New Mexico urged me to take a quilting class at our local shop, The Quilt Works, owned by Mary Lou Stark. I believed them when they said I would love the class, so I signed up. Kay Pike, my teacher, embraced the old-school mantra of drafting basic quilting blocks with stitching that was entirely handwork. In fact, my first quilt made from small calico prints and plain muslin took nine months to complete, about as long as it takes to make a human baby. When I realized I had total freedom over design, shapes, and artistic expression, I was hooked!
Just two years later, I joined the local quilt guild (New Mexico Quilters Association), where I met interesting and talented women (there were no men then). Both of my daughters were in school, and my days were free of parenting duties. Oh my! So much to learn, so much to do, so many new friends. Even as a painfully shy woman, I was free to express myself and learn to interact with others within this welcoming community. Among the many available work-study groups (aka “bees”), I joined the “hiking quilters.” All of us were young mothers and free during the day when school was in session. (photo of Golden Eagle) We swapped our house shoes for hiking boots and off we went!
Together, we explored the nearby Sandia Mountains and eventually hiked nearly every established trail. We contentedly picnicked in the coniferous forest and on montane ridges with gloriously expansive views. Then, sitting on the ridge one fine day, a golden eagle rose on an updraft right before my eyes. It seemed to me as if we looked into each other’s souls. There and then, I made an important life-long connection.
Our lunch discussions thoroughly covered what were becoming my two favorite topics: quilting and wildlife. With our passion for wild places, we wondered why the philanthropic efforts of the quilting guild always focused on human needs. Clearly, these were important endeavors, but what about the needs of wildlife? What could we do to raise awareness of wild things? We agreed, over peanut butter and jelly, to reach out to a local conservation group and offer to make a quilt that could be raffled to raise funds for them. In the end, we found a local group (which no longer exists here) that accepted our offer.
This simple decision profoundly changed my life. The Hiking Quilters were now involved in the world of birds! The excited conservation director wanted a design with the iconic bald eagle. We began designing and stitching, by hand, with embroidered embellishments. One year later, Save Our Eagles debuted and tickets were sold.
Over the course of that year (1988), I met and was enchanted by a majestic female red-tailed hawk, which was the first educational bird of the conservation group. She was human-imprinted and very comfortable with people. It was love at first sight on my part! I immediately became a volunteer and gave presentations to classrooms with Red, the hawk, perched on my glove. I reveled in my new volunteer role. Over time, once the director found my writing skills acceptable, I became an employee, with my new job description including delivering the educational program, editing their newsletter, and helping with grant proposals. It was my dream job, albeit very poorly paid.
In 1994, the director shifted gears and moved to Utah, leaving the New Mexico staff to fend for ourselves. And fend, we did! That same month, we founded Hawks Aloft, Inc. But with no money or nonprofit status, our odds of success were slim. I began writing proposals and was very surprised when the Frost Foundation awarded us an education grant twice the size I requested! We also received monthly support from Blue Sky Natural Beverages. But most importantly, a very kind and generous couple, Jerry and Sally Mayeux, covered all of our expenses that first year. Jerry, who developed organic farming supplements through his company, Plant Biotech, became the chairman of the board and Sally, a CPA, was our treasurer. Together, they ensured that our 501(c)(3) application was approved on the first attempt.
Survival during the early years was tenuous. We had the desire to do bird research, but no credentials. So, we schemed: if we volunteered to do bird surveys for the Bureau of Land Management and did a really good job, maybe one day, they would hire us. Even though I knew little to nothing about songbirds, I accompanied more experienced surveyors on their outings. My first task was to count the cliff swallows flying overhead—1, 2, 5, 50… I couldn’t even tell a house finch from a house sparrow. I have clear memories of feeling overwhelmed when I attended science conferences. However, little by little, my science knowledge of birds grew as I cut my biology teeth spending countless hours monitoring Ferruginous Hawks in the expansive grasslands of New Mexico, both on the ground and in a small six-seater airplane conducting aerial nest surveys. I read everything I could get my hands on about bird conservation and spent weekends birding with my mentor, Christopher Rustay, learning to identify birds by sound alone.
Birds of a feather survey birds together. Photos submitted.
My, has my world changed! Today, Hawks Aloft, Inc. has a widely respected research program, with studies throughout much of New Mexico. And I am happy to say that I have learned to identify birds by both sight and sound. In fact, to this day, I conduct landbird surveys several times a week. I also lead our local and international bird and nature tours, mostly in Central and South America. (Check out our website for more information about upcoming events!)
We incorporated New Mexico Raptor Rescue into our mission in 2013. The first year, we received 36 birds. Now, 11 years later, our hotlines field 600+ calls per year and admit over 225 patients. The vast majority of patients are raptors, but we are the only group in our state that has a network of volunteers who pick up and sometimes capture birds and then transport them to our facilities, or to other groups that might be closer. And what is one to do, when a panicked caller has a hummingbird that is caught in the spider webbing of it’s nest? Just today, we received an adult Common Raven with a wing injury, an American Crow, and four nestling Western Screech-Owls. Life here is never dull, and I cannot imagine what it would be like to be bored.
Although Red, the red-tailed hawk, was our first bird, there have been many more since. Right now, we care for 25-plus avian ambassadors and foster-parent birds who found their forever home with Hawks Aloft, Inc. Each of our birds has some injury that permanently prevents their release to the wild. Young birds, like Taken, our swainson’s hawk, adapt most easily to life in captivity.
One cold December day, we received a desperate phone call from a fellow about a bird that was found just standing in his driveway. As we began to make rescue arrangements, the phone rang again, with the now totally panicked caller reporting that the bird was lying down and “probably dying.” We hurried to try to collect what we thought was a seriously injured hawk. Imagine our surprise when the friendly young hawk turned out to be remarkably chubby and healthy but had completely trashed feathers which rendered him flightless. As it turns out, someone had kept him since he was a baby, probably in a wire cage, and he had imprinted on humans. We initially called him Gordo, due to his portly stature, but that is not an appropriate name for the majestic bird he would become. His formal name is Taken because he was taken from his parents and robbed from ever flying free and having his own family.
Celeste, the beautiful barn owl, came to Hawks Aloft, Inc. as have many other raptors, after being struck by a car one night. This happens when highly nocturnal birds are hunting, sometimes in near total darkness, and are blinded by the headlights of oncoming cars. Often, the driver cannot avoid striking the bird that is foraging for small rodents alongside a country lane.
Each of our birds has a special story of their own. All of them can be “adopted” through the Hawks Aloft, Inc. website. It’s been 31 years since I turned down the wildlife lane—years filled with adventure, knowledge, heartbreak, and rapture. It remains my great joy to work with and better understand the magnificent animals, and to collaborate with the many staff and volunteers who share this passion.
Gail Garber is the executive director of Hawks Aloft, Inc. Her lifelong love of the outdoors and quilting unexpectedly led to a deep connection with raptor conservation and education. What began as a simple quilt project to raise awareness for wildlife evolved into the founding of Hawks Aloft, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing and educating the public about birds of prey. Decades later, the organization continues to grow, caring for injured raptors, leading bird research, and inspiring future generations to appreciate the beauty and importance of these magnificent creatures.
