Profile: Mark Newstrom

SABO Director Mark Newstrom lives in Eagan, Minnesota, but thinks of southeastern Arizona as a second home.

Mark has had some level of avian interest throughout his life, but it was invigorated in 1976 when his mother dragged him "kicking and screaming" to a morning birdwatching hike at Carver Park (part of the Twin Cities' Three Rivers Park District system). From that day he was truly hooked on birds and birdwatching. This fascination grew to an avocation when he started keeping records in 1978 for master bird bander Kathy Heidel. Record keeping evolved into a bird banding subpermit in 1990 and a master permit in 1999.

While volunteering with the park district, he worked on the park's raptor nest survey team from 1980 to 1987, and earned a "Volunteer of the Year" award in 1990. His loyalty to the park system also led to his current position as Systems Analyst for Three Rivers Park District, begun in September 2002.

Mark's first visit to southeastern Arizona was in 1980, with the first of many stays at Ramsey Canyon Preserve. The beauty and restfulness of the area draws him back - annually since 1985, usually multiple times per year. As he says, "I need lots of breaks from my day job."

During his stays at the preserve, he volunteered his time at jobs ranging from general upkeep assistance to bookstore inventories to bird-related projects on and near the preserve (Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher nesting study, Elegant Trogon research, owl surveys, hummingbird and songbird banding). He befriended the various preserve managers, including Tom and Sheri, counting them all as good friends to this day.

The bird observatory concept captured Mark's attention when first proposed. "I am very glad to be part of SABO; I wish I could do more," he says. Mark is now the proud owner of a little piece of Arizona - a small rural parcel in the San Pedro Valley near St. David - and expects to spend more time here as he rehabilitates the wildlife habitat on his property.

Mark's favorite birding places include north central Minnesota, where mother Jean Segerstrom maintains her residence. She is a citizen scientist, volunteering with Project Feederwatch for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and loon monitoring for the Minnesota DNR. When not working or birding, Mark enjoys photography, train-spotting and cross-stitch.