by Bruce Sanford
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge lies about 90 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico, along the Rio Grande. During late fall and early winter the refuge host tens of thousands of migratory birds. My 2009 tour was a great one with wonderful folks. There was a couple from Virginia, one individual from Texas and three from my hone State of Washington. The shot below is a typical morning on the Flight Deck. This year the geese did not wait long before they blasted off for the feeding ground, and it was usually well before the actual sunrise. This perhaps was due to the longer distance they had to travel to get to cornfields. The image on the opening page was taken during an incoming storm, with rain cells moving through the area to help provide some great shooting.
Flight Deck View
The weather was real fierce at the beginning of the week, but settled down to mild temperature as the days progressed.
The wake of the passing storm produced some great cloud formations, adding to the photographic diversity that we experienced during the tour.
Bosque Morning
The group truly enjoyed viewing up close all the cranes and snow geese, plus lots of other birds, including a few mammals. For at least a couple of reasons, the corn production on the refuge failed, and because of this most of the cranes and snow geese were flying twenty-five north to reach the Bernardo area where there were some productive cornfields. On our last morning we returned to Bernardo and watched as hundreds of geese were flocking into one field close to the road. It was hard to determine the numbers since they were disappearing behind the stalks. One group after another went in while we waited for the ultimate blastoff. We waited and waited but the geese seemed determined to feed for a while. It was getting late so finally we decided to leave and head around to the northern part of the field where we knew other flocks of geese were coming in. As we drove around, wouldn't you know it, the geese in the first field erupted into an aerial explosion. So it goes.
Bernardo Blastoff
The crane ponds just outside the refuge were really productive; birds flying out in the morning and returning in the evening. After the passing storm, there was very little wind. However we manage to get in the best positions to take advantage of their comings and goings. Folks got plenty of opportunities to get birds in flight using all kinds of lenses. I often settled for the 70-200 lens since they were passing so close.
Morning Lift-off
Sandhill cranes and snow geese are certainly the dominate species on the refuge at this time of year, and there are plenty of opportunities to get photos of there birds in flight as well as on the ground.
Evening Return
Of course there are lots of other types of birds besides snow geese and sandhills. However, it takes a bit more luck in being at the right place at the right time, and for this it's best to simply travel the loop with a camera ready in your lap and a beanbag mounted on an opened window. The entire loop is about 12 miles, traveling though different habitat types that provide plenty of opportunities for viewing songbirds, raptors, waterfowl, shorebirds and an occasional herd of mule deer. When approaching a bird in this situation, it's best to move in as quickly as possible, but not too fast and slow gradually, avoiding any skidding stop on the dirt road. Make sure your settings are ready so you don't have to fuss around figuring them out. For car touring and shooting out the window, I usually set my camera of aperture priority, but with birds in flight I set it on manual.
Western Bluebird
Knowing your camera and how to make instant changes to exposure, depth of field and shutter speed is really important. It makes a big difference in getting the shot. Landscape photography is a bit more merciful since the subject usually doesn't fly away.
Raven
On the afternoon of the last day, we found this raven up on a snag. He (or she) was calling at something, which I couldn't see, but likely another raven. These birds are often hard to photograph since beside being somewhat elusive, especially when you stop the vehicle, their blackness definitely requires the right exposure to get detail. With the light background I shot this with a 1 and 1/3 stop over. I also committed it to simply black and white.
Gilded Flicker
Flickers are pretty common on the refuge, and they are year-round residence. However they don't stick around long for picture-taking.
Pheobe
Mule Deer
We saw our share of mule deer. According to the headquarters staff, there are elk on the refuge. However, we did not spot any on our tours around the loop.
Northern Goshawk
Hawks seem to have favorite perching sites. We saw this bird a couple times in the same area, which was just north of the Flight Deck.
Roadrunner
American Widgeon
We could not complete the tour without visiting the widgeon pond I Socorro. We brought a bit of food, which attracted a swarm of birds including the domestic waterfowl. This is an opportunity to get real close with a big lens and fill frames just with eyeballs. There were also a few ring-neck ducks on the pond.
Northern Harrier
I will be conducting another December tour in 2010 to Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge. If you are interested, check the menu above. I can send you a PDF file with more complete information. This is one of the world's premier birding spots, and just to visit the refuge would be a great life-long memory.
Red-tailed Hawk
Evening Flight