Friends of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge News:
The community is invited to attend a presentation by Holly Merker, hosted by Friends of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14 at the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center (BESC).
ORNITHERAPY: The Power of Birdwatching by Holly Merker
Long to-do lists, digital demands, life can be busy! If we allow birds and nature to slow us down, we are practicing “selfcare”. Research shows that connecting with wild birds and nature actively reduces stress, depression, and anxiety, while helping build a stronger heart and immune system.
The observation of wild birds offers the perfect gateway into deeper experiences with nature to maximize these benefits. Through observation, we can learn not only about birds but gain insight into our own lives while exploring our connection to the world around us. This fosters stewardship and bolsters conservation.
Within the program, we’ll delve into our connections to wild birds, how to maximize the wellness benefits of observation, and learn about the latest research surrounding the impact of nature on human health and why we need birds for overall wellbeing.
BOSQUE DEL APACHE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE – A place to practice Ornitherapy
Before Merker talks, there will be a short presentation about Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge by Executive Director Deb Caldwell of Friends of Bosque del Apache.
Our refuge is a place to practice “Ornitherapy” and is increasingly being recommended by healthcare professionals to relieve stress and improve health. Within our 57,331 acres at the northern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert is a mosaic of habitats – grasslands, wetlands, riparian areas, and cottonwood forest (bosque), whose fauna have specific needs. The refuge puts on a different face in every season. In Winter, it’s cold and dry and the refuge echoes to the sound of thousands of sandhill cranes, geese, and ducks – accompanied by an influx of raptors, big and small. In Spring, the refuge wetlands give way to mudflats that host beautiful shorebirds, and the refuge explodes in color with tiny migrating birds such as yellow chats, vermilion flycatchers, indigo buntings, and many varieties of swallows and warblers.
The desert cacti bloom in reds, yellows, oranges, and pinks starting in spring and into summer and fall. In summer, we celebrate our pollinators and enjoy all four species of hummingbirds who visit our refuge, as well as enjoying the shade of cottonwood trees, coyote and desert willows, and other plants in a greener landscape. Autumn brings golden cottonwoods along the bosque, sunflowers in the fields, and the trumpeting of the first returning sandhill cranes. In all seasons, we enjoy many other species that make Bosque del Apache their year-round home – javelina, elk, deer, bobcats, reptiles, coyotes, and mountain lions to name a few.
Bosque del Apache is not only a refuge for these many species but also for anyone wanting to find beauty, places to hike or walk, and a place to rejuvenate and restore inner peace in any season. We hope you will visit soon! Learn how you can help the Friends of Bosque del Apache preserve this beautiful and healing place.
HOLLY MERKER BIOGRAPHY
Holly Merker is a nature-based wellness specialist, professional birding guide, author, and lecturer who provides programming for people of all ages. Combining backgrounds in art therapy, nature and forest therapy, wellness counseling, and bird identification, she is a global advocate for the practice of Mindful Birding. She has co-authored two books which guide readers into optimizing the wellness benefits birds provides us, including the award-winning Ornitherapy: For Your Mind, Body, and Soul (Crossley Books, 2021), and The Power of Birdwatching (Die Kraft Der Vogel Beobachtung, Freya verlag, 2023 – available in Europe only). Merker is also co-host of the Mindful Birding Podcast and founder of the Mindful Birding Network. In 2022, she was honored to be the recipient of the ABA Conservation and Education Award given by the American Birding Association for her work in both those areas involving birds.
In her free time, Merker spends every possible moment practicing Ornitherapy, which she credits in helping defeat breast cancer, restoring her health mentally and physically.