A “must-see” spot for birders and nature photographers. Bosque del Apache NWR is located just south of the small town of San Antonio, NM. and about 80 miles south of Albuquerque. Tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes (Grus Canadensis), Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens), and many species of ducks use “Bosque” as their wintering grounds. Any early morning “Blast-off” of thousands of Snow Geese from their night time wetland roosts is nothing less than spectacular. My first visit was in November 2006 and I immediately decided that this would be an annual photo trip. November 2009 marked my fourth trip to “Bosque”. This year, and also in 2008, I visited the Bernardo Waterfowl Management Area just south of Belen, NM. Like “Bosque”, Bernardo is the winter home for thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. Bernardo is a component of the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Management Area and is managed by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. The gallery has been updated with some images from this area. Every photo trip to “Bosque” and the surrounding area provides new and exciting photo opportunities. On occasion, rare photo opportunities are present as in November 2007 when I was able to capture several images of the endangered Northern Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis).
