Hawks Aloft, Inc. – Conservation, Avian Research & Education

Working to preserve New Mexico’s wildlife and unique landscapes for many generations to come.

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Hawks Aloft, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization incorporated in 1994 and based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

We work to conserve indigenous wild birds and their habitats through avian research, conservation education, raptor rescue, and cooperation with other organizations.

We believe that this work helps to preserve New Mexico’s unique landscapes and wildlife populations for many generations to come.

The Latest News from HAI

Ecuadorian Cloud Forest and the Galapagos Islands

08 Jan 2023

Hawks Aloft and Holbrook Travel Presents June 18-29, 2024 $7495 per person (includes land cost only) Join Gail Garber and Hawks Aloft as we return to one of our favorite places on Planet Earth – the Galapagos Archipelago! After our first magical trip there in 2018, everyone agreed it was the trip of a lifetime!…

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We’re pleased to announce: we finally got our new t-shirts!

05 Sep 2022

Get your own or gift a fellow bird lover! The price is $30 regardless of size and all shirts are short-sleeved. Thanks to our very own Joe and his wife, Stephanie, modeling the shirt along with Beauty, the star of the shirt design. She is such a character!

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Panama Trip (Full – Waitlist Only)

30 May 2022

HAWKS ALOFT MEMBER TOUR NOVEMBER 2-12, 2023 You spoke and we listened! Discover the Darién and the River of Raptors With Hawks Aloft and Canopy Family Canopy Tower and Canopy Camp Darien, Panama $3850 All Inclusive from Panama City The first planned trip coming up! We last visited Canopy Camp Darién in 2019. Everyone agreed…

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What We Do

Great Horned Owl "Dulcita"

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Adopt a Raptor

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Our Annual Quilt Raffle

We’ll draw the winning ticket on the first Saturday in December 2024!

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A Cooper’s Hawk portrait, showing some iconic fi

A Cooper’s Hawk portrait, showing some iconic field marks that help distinguish it from its near lookalike, the Sharp-shinned Hawk (on which, more later). Most noticeable are its dark blue-grey wings, with a cap on its rather flat head to.match. Also, notice its rounded tail feathers of uneven length and, finally, its streamlined, bullet-shaped torso. Its light orange eyes indicate that it’s a subadult; depending on the bird’s sex, its eye color will change over time, through orange-red to a deeper red. Thank you, Gail Garber, for the photo.

The barely-discernible banded tail, in alternating

The barely-discernible banded tail, in alternating dark and light shades, protruding from the nest belongs to a Cooper’s Hawk incubating her eggs, or perhaps brooding her nestlings. Don’t be surprised to hear a warning “kac kac kac” from her mate should you venture too close! Primarily woodland and forest dwellers, Cooper’s Hawks have become increasingly at-home in urban parks—where you may come upon a scene such as this one—and in quiet neighborhoods. Beware, however, of potentially feeding these bird-eating raptors (albeit indirectly) by putting out seed for songbirds. Should a Cooper’s Hawk appear to be setting up housekeeping in your backyard, it will most likely lose interest and move on if you take your feeders down for a few days. Thank you, Larry Rimer, for the photo.

Our Avian Ambassadors are always the biggest hit a

Our Avian Ambassadors are always the biggest hit at the Monte Vista Crane Festival. Each is permanently non-releasable due to some injury that will never heal well enough for survival in the wild. Shown here are Taken, the human-imprinted Swainson's Hawk, Azulito (Little Blue), the American Kestrel with a wing injury, and Dulcita, the Great Horned Owl with a vestibular injury that makes her a little "off-balance." Photos by Renee Robillard and Gail Garber.

Suddenly, every single bird - Sandhill Cranes, Ca

Suddenly, every single bird - Sandhill Cranes, Canada Geese, Mallards, and Pintail Ducks - took flight just as the storm closed in. I looked up to see ... an adult Bald Eagle high above! But, it appeared that he/she didn't catch dinner while we watched.

Can you see me? Great Horned Owls, with their mas

Can you see me? Great Horned Owls, with their masterful camouflage, are so well hidden on the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge that one of our first tasks on arrival is to scout out historic locations in hopes of finding an active nest. This year, we were lucky to locate three different nests, all of them on the refuge. But unless you were in the right place at the right time, you might never have seen them. Photos by Gail Garber.

It had been three years since we last participated

It had been three years since we last participated in the @Monte Vista Crane Festival. We were there in 2020 when we first heard of a strange new virus, with little idea of how it would turn our world upside down. This is our all-time favorite event, due in large part to the wonderful people that visit our booth and to the very warm welcome from the community. Thank you @Renee Robillard for these photos.

Several of you correctly guessed the ID on the fea

Several of you correctly guessed the ID on the feathers post yesterday. It was indeed, a Barn Owl, or more correctly, our Barn Owl Avian Ambassador, Celeste, so named because of the highly nocturnal nature of this species. Barn Owls can hunt in near total darkness, using their hearing to triangulate the location of their prey. Another cool fact about Barn Owls is that the pellets they cast (with undigestable prey remains) are coated with a black gelatinous substance unlike all other raptors.

Good Morning! Who Am I?

Good Morning! Who Am I?

Once the breeding and nesting cycle is completed,

Once the breeding and nesting cycle is completed, the Belted Kingfisher pair separates, and each parent spends the rest of the year alone. In the next breeding season, they will choose a new mate to parent young with. Next time you make a trip to a lake, pond, or other open body of water, make sure to keep an eye out (and an ear open) for Belted Kingfishers!

Thank you, @dougbrown505, for the photo.

We are looking for donated pine cones for one of o

We are looking for donated pine cones for one of our conservation projects for elementary schools. They will be used to make pine cone bird feeders with peanut butter and bird seed. Please contact us if you have a yard full of pinecones that need to be collected. Or, if you would like to drop them off at our office, please call 505-828-9455! Thanks so much!

Juvenile Belted Kingfishers stay with their parent

Juvenile Belted Kingfishers stay with their parents for approximately three weeks after fledging. The parents continue to feed their young while teaching them to fish for themselves. Juveniles are taught to fly, dive, and even hover over a body of water looking for their next meal.

Thank you, @dougbrown505, for the photo.

Young Belted Kingfishers have strong stomach acids

Young Belted Kingfishers have strong stomach acids that allow them to digest the bones and scales of their prey. When the young reach adulthood, the chemistry of those acids changes so that they can produce pellets. Scientists dissect the pellets to get an accurate picture of what the species is eating.

Thank you @alanmurphyphotography for the photo.

Belted Kingfishers make their nests on the banks o

Belted Kingfishers make their nests on the banks of a waterway close to their territory. The nest has a room at the end of a tunnel that can be up to 8 feet long. The tunnel angles upward to prevent water from touching either their eggs or their young. The male and female kingfishers work together to construct this marvel.

Thank you, Tony Giancola, for the photo.

Once they’ve caught their prey, often fish, they

Once they’ve caught their prey, often fish, they perch on a branch and hit the fish repeatedly on it to subdue it. Then, they swallow the unfortunate victim whole. If the fish is larger than the kingfisher’s body, it will swallow it halfway and let its stomach acids break it down, before swallowing the other half.

Thank you, Doug Brown, for the photo.

Expert divers, Belted Kingfishers have several ada

Expert divers, Belted Kingfishers have several adaptations that help them navigate the water. When diving headfirst, their long, slender bill breaks the surface tension of the water before their bullet-like body. They have a translucent nictating membrane that protects their eyes from debris when under the water. They also have two foveae, the area where sight is sharpest, in their eyes. One is better adapted to sight above the water and the other is superior under the surface.

Thank you, @alanmurphyphotography, for the photo.

Unlike the majority of bird species, Belted Kingfi

Unlike the majority of bird species, Belted Kingfisher females, pictured here, are more ornamental than the males. The females have the characteristic reddish brown “belt” under their chests. A possible explanation might be that when males are defending territories if they see the chestnut band they will know not to attack.

Thank you, Doug Brown, for the photo.

When walking near a lake or pond in North America,

When walking near a lake or pond in North America, you will probably hear the Belted Kingfisher before you see it. A cousin of the Australian Kookaburra, they have a loud, rattling call that is unique to the Kingfisher family group. They are often perched high in a tree, watching and waiting above the water to dive for their prey.

Thank you, Doug Brown, for the photo.

Way too cute! That is all. Thank you, Larry Rimer,

It’s getting to be that time of year! Our Raptor

It’s getting to be that time of year! Our Raptor Rescue team recently took a call from a staffer at Los Lunas Open Space, where local firemen had just delivered a little owl that had been found hopping around on the ground and being harassed by crows. The baby didn’t seem to be injured—just fallen (or blown) out of its nest. Rescue dispatcher Evelyn McGarry advised the firemen to re-nest him if possible, or relocate him to a nearby tree. With any luck, this little Great Horned Owlet has been reunited with his parents and siblings and will be better prepared for his next trip out of the nest!

Proud foster mom Dulcita poses with another of her

Proud foster mom Dulcita poses with another of her success stories. This big kid was found in Albuquerque on April 3, 2020 as a tiny, fluffy nestling. By May 7 it was beginning to explore its surroundings and digging into the frozen-and-thawed mice that landed on the ledge in its mews, courtesy of its human caregiver Lisa Morgan. Eventually, and with a little more maturity, the now-fledgling moved up to “mouse school,” where it could learn to hunt while honing its flight skills in a much bigger flight cage!

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Have you found an injured raptor, roadrunner, raven or crow?

Call the Raptor Rescue Hotline
505.999.7740

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