Committees and Groups

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Architectural Review Committee (ARC)

It is the responsibility of the Architectural Review Committee (“ARC”) to meet periodically to review and rule on proposed exterior changes, modifications and/or improvements to homes and property within the Aldea de Santa Fe Homeowners Association (“HOA”). The ARC will ensure the aesthetics of the community are not compromised and the intent of the HOA’s Governing Documents and Design Code are not violated. Many specific situations are unique, and the ARC must decide and rule on each situation in the best interest of the entire Community to maintain property values.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee is a standing committee of the Aldea de Santa Fe Homeowners’ Association (HOA) and is responsible for advising the Board of Directors (Board) on its duties related to HOA financial matters.

Aldea Outdoor Committee (AOC)

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The Aldea Outdoor Committee (“AOC”) is an advisory committee chartered to assist the Aldea de Santa Fe Homeowners Association (“HOA”) Board of Directors in providing recommendations regarding community outdoor initiatives, projects and concerns. The AOC’s focus is on the HOA’s Commons including open space, arroyos, parks, trails and other common areas, including tennis and basketball courts, streets, sidewalks and curb planting areas. The AOC will make recommendations to the Board and Community Manager which guide HOA activities in maintenance, beautification, sustainability, conservation best practices, and environmental stewardship. 

AOC Educational Presentations

The Aldea Outdoors Committee was thrilled to present this highly informative webinar by local gardening expert David Salman who is the owner of Waterwise Gardening and Chief Horticulturist of High Country Gardens. In this webinar, David provides excellent information about how to create beautiful water conserving gardens with plantings that thrive in New Mexico's climate. The presentation below lasts just over an hour and contains a lot of good information about planting in Santa Fe.

 

Projects and Lifestyle Committee

The Projects and Lifestyle Committee (“PLC”) is a volunteer committee chartered to assist the Aldea de Santa Fe Board of Directors (“Board”) of the Homeowners Association (HOA) and the Community Manager explore and address issues that are of interest or concern for the Aldea homeowners, consider and plan social events to encourage the sense of community and promote new urbanism, assist on the use of the Aldea Community Center Building and making recommendations to the Board on operational ideas that benefit the Aldea Homeowner’s Association and its administration. The PLC will also focus on ways to improve communications to the residents and creating a welcoming environment for new and existing residents. 

Aldea Projects and Lifestyle Committee Birding Group

Aldea Birding Group —January 2023

 “The more you look, the more you will see.” – Roger Tory Peterson, August 28, 1908 – July 28,

1996, naturalist, ornithologist, artist and educator.

Raptor Visit, 6th Year of Nest Box Project, Rodenticide Ban, and 124 Species

of Birds Now on Aldea Bird List!

Despite 2+ years of pandemic semi-standstill, the Birding Group has accomplished a great deal. And it takes a village to continue to do this work. Please consider getting involved!

If you want to be on our mailing list, get involved, or would like a copy of the Aldea Bird list

please email us at  AldeaBirders@gmail.com 

Raptor Visit

On October 2, 2022 the Birding Group hosted the Santa Fe Raptor Center and three beautiful birds—Swainson’s Hawk, Harris’s (Wolf) Hawk, and Burrowing Owl. It was a fascinating presentation and the people who attended were engaged and enthusiastic, especially the children. So happy to see kids in Aldea! We’re hoping for a Raptor Release Party in 2023!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mario and Harris's (Wolf) Hawk                                                                     Burrowing Owl

6th Year of Juniper Titmouse Nest Box Project

17 volunteers worked on this project in 2022, putting in 900+ hours of work. Between 2017-2022 505 baby birds have fledged from our nest boxes. In addition to the Juniper Titmouse, we have had Bewick’s Wren, Mountain Chickadee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Bluebird and Western Screech-Owl. This is a significant conservation project. We’re a Cornell Lab of Ornithology Nest Watch Chapter—the only one in NM! Robyn Bailey from Cornell recently wrote us about our contribution to their data: Your account has contributed 56.78% of JUTI nests (67 of 118 total). 2022 was your best year yet, with 15 JUTI nests!  

Here’s a wonderful article with a history of our project:

https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2019/April-May/Conservation/Juniper-Titmouse

Rodenticide Ban

We continue to work on educating residents about toxic rodenticides’ unintended, devastating effects on wildlife. We know poison is the “easiest-you-don’t-have-to-see-the-effects-of-your actions” method to get rid of mice and packrats. But the sickened rodents take a few days to die and they are eaten by owls, hawks, ravens, snakes, bobcats and coyotes. The poison effects them too and they can die—especially the smaller animals. The poison accumulates in the bodies of the larger ones as well, and they are weakened and can die. Rodenticides are not okay in Aldea!

Aldea Bird List

Birders in Aldea have observed 124 species over the years—a pretty  impressive number! The last new species  was a Grey Catbird in November 2022.  If you’d like a copy of the Bird List, please email us and we’ll send you the PDF. We love to hear about your sightings too!

 

 

Juniper Titmouse, photo by John Duncan, 2018 Aldea yard

 

Western Screech-Owl, photo by Don Wilson, 2021 Aldea Open Space Nest Box

Birds Seen in Aldea - As of November 26, 2022

                              (124 Species)

Listed below are birds that have been observed in Aldea de Santa Fe by members of the Birding Group and others. Some are residents and some seen only in migrations. The bullet points below indicates the species seen in each Family.

QUAIL

• Scaled Quail

PHEASANTS, GROUSE, TURKEYS

• Wild Turkey

AMERICAN VULTURES

• Turkey Vulture

KITES, EAGLES, HAWKS

• Bald Eagle
• Osprey
• Northern Harrier
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Northern Goshawk
• Broad-winged Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Ferruginous Hawk

CARACARAS, FALCONS

• Merlin
• Prairie Falcon

CRANES

• Sandhill Crane—flying overhead, calling

PIGEONS, DOVES

• Rock Pigeon
• Eurasian Collared-Dove
• White-winged Dove
• Mourning Dove

CUCKOOS, ROADRUNNERS, ANIS

• Greater Roadrunner

TYPICAL OWLS

• Western Screech Owl
• Great Horned Owl
• Northern Pygmy-Owl
• Long-eared Owl

NIGHTHAWKS, NIGHTJARS

• Common Nighthawk

HUMMINGBIRDS

• Black-chinned Hummingbird
• Calliope Hummingbird
• Broad-tailed Hummingbird
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Broad-billed Hummingbird (very rare; Female, seen from mid Oct- early Dec 2016)

WOODPECKERS

• Williamson’s Sapsucker
• Red-naped Sapsucker
• Ladder-backed Woodpecker
• Downy Woodpecker
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker Yellow-shafted Red-shafted

TYRANT FLYCATCHERS

• Cordilleran Flycatcher
• Olive-sided Flycatcher
• Western Wood-Pewee
• Say’s Phoebe
• Ash-throated Flycatcher
• Cassin’s Kingbird
• Western Kingbird

SHRIKES

• Loggerhead Shrike

VIREOS

• Cassin’s Vireo
• Plumbeous Vireo
• Warbling Vireo

JAYS, MAGPIES, CROWS

• Stellar’s Jay
• Pinyon Jay
• Woodhouse Scrub-Jay
• Black-billed Magpie
• American Crow
• Chihuahuan Raven
• Common Raven

LARKS

• Horned Lark

SWALLOWS

• Tree Swallow
• Violet-green Swallow
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Barn Swallow

CHICKADEES, TITMICE

• Black-capped Chickadee
• Mountain Chickadee
• Juniper Titmouse

BUSHTITS

• Bushtit

NUTHATCHES

• Red-breasted Nuthatch
• White-breasted Nuthatch

WRENS

• Bewick’s Wren
• House Wren

GNATCATCHERS

• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

KINGLETS

• Ruby-crowned Kinglet

THRUSHES

• Western Bluebird
• Mountain Bluebird
• Townsend’s Solitaire
• Hermit Thrush
• American Robin

MOCKINGBIRDS, THRASHERS

• Grey Catbird
• Northern Mockingbird
• Sage Thrasher
• Curve-billed Thrasher

WAXWINGS

• Cedar Waxwing

WOOD-WARBLERS

• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Nashville Warbler
• Virginia’s Warbler
• Yellow Warbler
• Chestnut-sided Warbler (rare; seen on 5/27/20)
• Magnolia Warbler (rare; seen on 10/2/22)
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
  • Myrtle
  • Audubon
• Black-throated Gray Warbler
• Townsend's Warbler
• Blackpoll Warbler (rare; seen on 4/26/20)
• Northern Waterthrush
• MacGillivray’s Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat
• Wilson’s Warbler

SPARROWS

• Green-tailed Towhee
• Spotted Towhee
• Canyon Towhee
• Rufous-crowned Sparrow
• Chipping Sparrow
• Clay-colored Sparrow
• Brewer’s Sparrow
• Vesper Sparrow
• Lark Sparrow
• Savannah Sparrow
• Fox Sparrow
• Song Sparrow
• Lincoln’s Sparrow
• White-throated Sparrow
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Dark-eyed Junco
  • Slate-colored
  • Oregon
  • Pink-sided
  • Grey-headed
  • Cismontanus

TANAGERS, CARDINALS, GROSBEAKS

• Western Tanager
• Black-headed Grosbeak
• Lazuli Bunting

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES

• Red-winged Blackbird
• Brewer’s Blackbird
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Bullock’s Oriole

FINCHES

• Evening Grosbeak
• House Finch
• Cassin’s Finch
• Red Crossbill
• Pine Siskin
• Lesser Goldfinch
• American Goldfinch

OLD WORLD SPARROWS

• House Sparrow

 

Note: Names and sequences of families and species conform to the American Ornithologists’ Society’s (formerly AOU) Check-list of North American Birds, as amended through the 61st Supplement (Auk2020, Vol. 137; 2020)

 

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