Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Dad, Mom, brothers Ted, Rock and I head to one of my favorite bird watching places in New Mexico, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. It's 57,331 acres of marsh and desert along the Rio Grande situated on the northern boundary of the Chihuahuan desert between two mountain ranges.
Although it is best known for the approximately 14,000 sandhill cranes and 32,000 snow geese that make it their winter home, over the years we have seen bald eagles, a golden eagle, an aplomado falcon and many more birds and wildlife.
It takes hours to drive through it because we are constantly parking the vehicle to get out with binoculars to watch the different birds and ducks. Here Dad and Mom are on one of the many observation decks that extend out over the marsh.
In past years the drought will dry up a lot of The Bosque but for now there is plenty of water.
As we stop at the first observation point we spot this Neotropic Cormorant sitting on a branch of a fallen tree buried underwater.
A few minutes later this Ruddy Duck comes swimming by.
I don't think it was very happy that I was taking it's picture because it immediately made a u-turn and left.
Three Sandhill Cranes fly overhead as a sliver of the moon is still visible in the midday sky.
A Marsh Hawk sits in a tree scouting for lunch.
Some Snow Geese fly by making for a nice contrast between them and the blue sky.
One of the Sandhill Cranes poses for a picture.
As we prepare to leave the Bosque del Apache after a very fun day the Chupadera Mountains make a nice background for one last picture of a flock of Snow Geese.
