Early winter is the time when the sandhill cranes and other waterbirds arrive in the southwest U.S. after they migrate from Canada and other points north. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, about 2 hours north of our home in Las Cruces, is renowned as one of the foremost places in the country for waterfowl to overwinter. Normally, huge flocks of geese, ducks and sandhill cranes arrive for the climate and for the protection from predators offered by more than 51,000 acres of protected habitat.
We decided to spend a few days visiting Bosque del Apache in January. However, we were shocked that the birds were just not there in nearly the numbers we expected. To our relief, the experts are saying that this is not because of a declining population of these waterfowl. This year there were better food resources elsewhere.
But our hosts at the Lazy Dog Casita, where we spent two nights, suggested that we could go about 45 miles north to seek out the Bernardo Wildlife Area. There we found cranes and geese in abundance. Still, late one day we returned to Bosque and were able to watch and photograph some small groups of cranes at sunset.
I really love bird photography. There is a grace and beauty that cannot be discerned by the human eye but can be captured and unveiled by the camera. Also, it requires developing technical skill and artistic perception that must be called upon in a split second. These things build proficiency that informs all of my photography.
So, in the end, we were not disappointed and, in fact, I came home with quite a number of keepers. For these photos, I used my Olympus OM1 Mark III and the quite excellent and light 75-300mm zoom lens, which at full zoom gives an equivalent reach of 600mm.
I hope you enjoy this gallery. Eventually I will be adding more photos from this excursion to my bird galleries. Click on any photo for a larger view.
