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 brother and I visited the area early December when there was estimated to be 40,000 Snow and Ross geese and nearly 10,000 sandhill cranes, along with more ducks than you can shake a stick at. Birds of prey are also commonly seen, especially kestrels, harriers and red-tailed hawks. Many of the aerial visitors come as far away as above the Arctic Circle, while others migrate from breeding grounds as close as Idaho and Wyoming. Birds begin arriving late October, peaking by the end of November, then departing late February through March.
Although the refuge caters primarily to the birds, it is set up for lots of opportunities for the public, attracting numerous photographers with heavy equipment. When we were there, at least two big photo groups were also in attendance. You could tell where they were by the passing of car caravans. For the best photo action, mid-November through January is the ideal time to visit. Corn and grain are planted in various areas within the refuge to provide the birds with a winter food supply, also making the human visitors very happy.
For photographers,
another advantage that this refuge has to
offer is the incredible sunrises and sunsets. Set together with the avian
fauna, this makes for some amazing photo opportunities. However, this
requires early morning rising to be out there before the birds blast off to
feed. We were up at 4:30 every morning and were out well before sunrise,
with the exception of the first morning when we happen to get a flat tire just
as we left the motel. (But that’s another story.) The area known as the Flight
Deck is the most popular spot to begin the day, and usually there are plenty of
geese and cranes in the area to fill up plenty of flash cards (assuming digital
equipment). With the sky filled with birds, backlit by morning colors, I
don’t think that there is anywhere else on earth that can match this spectacle. Once the geese have blasted away, we usually headed south around the loop,
catching sandhills as they lifted off for their feeding grounds.
The entire loop is about 15 miles, traveling though different habitat types that provide plenty of opportunities for viewing songbirds, raptors, waterfowl, shorebirds and an occasional herd of mule deer. The American Kestrel is a common raptor in the refuge, but getting close enough to take a photo was the trick. By the time you stop the car, grab your camera and aim your lens, it's gone. The snipe was a bit more cooperative, posing for as many shots as I wanted.
We saw quite a few red-tailed hawks, some close enough to see through the viewfinder. The bird on the top is the typical coloration, while the one below is a darker form that I hadn't seen before.
The northern section of the loop (Farm Area) is planted with corn, attracting thousands of geese. By setting up our tripods along the side of the road (being careful to avoid the photo caravans) we got some nice flight shots of geese and cranes. Occasionally the feeding birds would be disturbed by a coyote or raptor, some sort of thing, and all lift off at once. (I think the birds themselves enjoyed these aerial breaks and would just do it.) This event occurred periodically, about once every half hour or so, almost predictable.
This was also a great area to practice flight photography, either on single birds or oncoming flocks
Midday usually found us back in Socorro downloading pictures,
or visiting the Mineral Museum at New Mexico Tech College, or motoring over to
Magdalena to visit the Very Large Array, which is a series of large radio
telescopes used for probing the mysteries of the universe. One mid-day
excursion took us to the widgeon pond on the college campus. You can't get
any closer to the birds than at this place, which is courtesy of Artie Morris.
Later afternoon found us back on the refuge photographing birds returning to their watery roosting sites. Although we sort of established a routine during the week we were there, every day provided different photo opportunities, and each of us came back with our unique experiences.
I am planning a photo tour for 2008, taking up to six individuals during the second week of December. If you are interested is accompanying me for a truly great experience, click here for more details.
Any of these photos are available as prints. For more information about prints and pricing, go here .
Northern Harrier in flight
There was a full moon during early December, making for additional opportunities
