2026 Dorothy Hoard Stewardship Award recipient Bob Walker. Courtesy photo
Friends of Bandelier News:
The Friends of Bandelier has selected Robert Walker as the recipient of its 2026 Dorothy Hoard Stewardship Award. Walker was chosen for his contributions to bird science, conservation, and education on the Pajarito Plateau.
Walker has made significant contributions to citizen science through his birding activities, including photography and documentation of bird species data. He developed his photography skills while capturing his daughters playing soccer matches. When they left home for college and careers, Walker looked for other photographic avenues.
He soon discovered that the expertise of photographing fast moving, erratic soccer players transferred nicely to photographing birds in the wild. He has taken more than 200,000 bird photos. More than 18,000 of his photos and associated sighting information appear on ebird.com, one of the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects. These data contribute to hundreds of conservation decisions and peer-reviewed papers, thousands of student projects, and help inform bird research worldwide.
Walker has also contributed to the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Los Alamos County, Volume 2. The first edition was published in 1992 and represented surveys from 1982-1984. The second edition will appear online within the next year and reflects surveys from 2017-2021. The new version will be a valuable, updated resource for birders and nature conservationists, allowing the evolution of bird species in Los Alamos County to be studied over a forty-year time scale.
In addition to his citizen science activities, Walker has also been instrumental in education, particularly through his involvement with the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC). One of his most impactful and enduring contributions is the creation of the Observation Room at PEEC. The room overlooks canyons and includes a pond and a specially designed garden to attract birds and other animals. Walker developed this resource with Dave Yeamans and tapped his own knowledge as a Master Gardener to design and cultivate a bird friendly habitat for people to observe and learn about bird life. He hosts “Birding with Bob” at the PEEC Observation Room from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., every Wednesday.
Walker has also hosted numerous bird walks in the spring and fall, sponsored by PEEC. An additional indication of his commitment to environmental education is his service on the PEEC board for seven years, including a two-year term as board Chairman.
Walker arrived in Los Alamos in 1976 to work at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and raised two daughters with his wife, Laurie. He retired from LANL in 2008 after 31 years as a theoretical chemist. He and his wife live in White Rock.
This award was established by the Friends of Bandelier in March 2014 as a memorial to the group’s founder and long-time president, Dorothy Hoard, and recognizes contributions to the stewardship of natural and cultural resources in Bandelier or in the Los Alamos area. Recipients demonstrate leadership roles in conservation efforts that have had a significant positive impact to the community, the Monument, the Valles Caldera National Preserve, or the Santa Fe National Forest in the Los Alamos area.
A list of the past 12 recipients can be found at https://www.bandelierfriends.org/dorothy-hoard-award. In recognition of this award, the Friends will donate $1,000 in Walker’s name to Bandelier National Monument to fund a project of his choice. He also received a framed Terry Foxx painting at a recent luncheon hosted by the Friends. The painting depicted a Scarlet Bugler Penstemon, a flower that is attractive to hummingbirds.