jan 12 20-n-501 Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - San Antonio, NM.

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jan 12 20-n-944 A Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) family feed and fight over a Sandhill crane carcass as they try to stand on thin ice.

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#BaldEagle #Haliaeetusleucocephalus #eagle #Accipitridae #raptors #birdofprey

A group of Sandhill Cranes prepare for landing - Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico.

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Sandhill cranes gather in bodies of water in the evening for safety. They know that it is harder for predators to reach them in the water, and movement in the water will alert them as to their presence. The setting sun creates a dramatic background for their slender features. Sandhill cranes are noted to have one of the longest fossil histories of any bird today. Definitive sandhill fossils have been found that are over 2.5 million years old. Listening to their calls at daybreak or in the evening I get the sense that I transported back in time, enjoying the sounds of ancient history. They are a joy to watch and photograph.

A little further down the road, we encountered a family of Javelina including this little one.

The Red tailed Hawk is a raptor of widespread distribution. Its plumage is as varied as its distribution. There are up to 14 different subspecies with those of the western North America being the most varied. Because of their great variability I still find them difficult to identify at times. This would appear to be a juvenile light morph of the western variety. The photo was taken at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge during this year's Festival of the Cranes celebration.

Large ears, like those of a mule, are a characteristic of mule deer. Their large ears do endow them with a very acute sense of hearing. Although they are related to white tailed deer, their tails have a black tip. Mule deer are generally found west of the Missouri River. There are areas where white tailed deer and mule deer coexist. This yearling watches me carefully with mom not far off in the background. It stood its ground, and was still there when I climbed back into my car and drove off. Though reclusive, they can be fairly easy to photograph at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico. #ILoveNature #ILoveWildlife #WildlifePhotography in #NewMexico #Nature in #America #USA #MuleDeer #Deer #Canon #Bringit #DrDADBooks #ChildrensBooks #Photography #Picoftheday #Photooftheday

jan 12 20-n-1082 Juvenile Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) guarding their crane carcass still partially frozen, a Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) drinking at the water’s edge, Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) feeding in the thawed water, all while a nearby coyote pack (not pictured) watches for their breakfast opportunity.

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One of my favorite ducks, the northern Shoveler, takes to the air over the marshes at New Mexico's Bosque del Apache refuge. Northern shovelers have a distinctive bill that makes them easy to identify, but also allows them to sift through sediments and extract invertebrates that they consume as food. Drakes, or males, have very distinctive colors, making them handsome looking dudes! A bright golden eye stands out wonderfully against a dark green iridescent head of feathers. They breed in the northern parts of North America, Asia, and Europe and migrate to wintering grounds in the southern parts of those continents. #ILoveWildlife #ILoveNature #ILoveDucks #NorthernShovelers #Wildlifephotography in #NewMexico #Nature in #America #USA #Canon #Bringit #Birds #DrDADBooks #Photography #Picoftheday #Photooftheday

As I begin to count down to a return to Bosque del Apache I returned to some images of snow geese and saw this one, hoping that the foliage this year provides lovely backgrounds as it did last year.

Sandhill Crane out for an evening stroll near where the Snow Goose fly-in is taking place.

Nevada Buckmoth at Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro Co., NM, 181021. Hemileuca nevadensis. Lepidoptera: Saturniidae

No one seems to know just exactly how many feathers snow geese have. Rough estimates are somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000. That's a lot of feathers for one bird to care for. Snow geese, and most waterfowl, have a preening gland above their tail. So when you see a goose rubbing its head on its back, they're oiling up! Preening oils help to maintain feather pliability and water resistance. Feathers that are damaged and pulled out are replaced. Feathers that are damaged or broken, but not removed, are replaced at the time of the molt. Molting usually takes place during the summer months. During the molting process, birds will replace their feathers, including flight feathers. While flight feathers are replace, birds are essentially, well..... flightless! It is a vulnerable time for geese, and all birds. So who cares about a few ruffled feathers? With proper care and continued hard work geese will continue to take to the air! #ILoveNature #ILoveWildife #WildifePhotography in #NewMexico #Nature in #America #USA #Canon #SnowGeese #Bringit #DrDADBooks #Photography #Picoftheday #Photooftheday

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Bosque Del Apache NWR, NM

Autumn in upon us and the first sandhill cranes have arrived at Bosque del Apache refuge this week. In mid November the refuge hosts the annual Festival of the Cranes. It's a week of information, art, and intrigue well worthy of attendance. The weather is unpredictable. Mornings are usually crisp and cold, but by afternoon a sweater may be too much. Early storms have left a blanket of autumn snow, changing the landscape in just hours. The Bosque is a marvelous place to enjoy a variety of wildlife, including sandhill cranes and light geese. Their presence dominates the landscape from late October through February. #ILoveNature #ILoveWildlife #ILoveBirds #WildlifePhotography in #NewMexico #Nature #Birds #SandhillCranes #Sandhills #Cranes #Photography #Picoftheday #DrDADBooks #Photooftheday

Waiting for the fly-in at Bosque del Apache NWR. That little area of white dead center is snow geese, it's also at the center of the previous video in which things started heating up. Sun's going down and predictably, it's getting cold. We've been here many times so we know to dress for the after sundown temperature drop but still ... it's getting chilly.

Digiscoped using manual focus, 1/800s.

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This group includes Blue Morph Adults. Snow Goose fly-in at the Flight Deck at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Two Snow Geese take off from the wetlands at Bosque del Apache, NM

No, snow goose! But duck was something I thought I would need to do when this near sighted goose flew in too close! The photo was taken from the flight deck at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, where tens of thousands of light geese spend the winter. Light geese are a combination of snow geese and Ross's geese. Snow geese, like this one, have a slight opening at the sides of their mouth called a "grin patch." The grin patch is absent in the slightly smaller Ross's goose. Snow geese have two color morphs, a white morph, which this goose is, and a blue morph. The blue morph occurs as the result of a single dominant gene. The white morph is homozygous recessive. When choosing a mate a bird will almost always choose a bird that looks more like its parents. Somehow that doesn't surprise me, as people frequently do the same thing. Nature is funny that way! #IloveNature #ILoveWildlife #WildlifePhotography in #NewMexico #Nature in #America #USA #BosquedelApacheNWR #SnowGeese #Canon #Bringit #DrDADBooks #Photography #Picoftheday #ItsSnowingGeese #Photooftheday

The other thing about that day's fly-in? The party was elsewhere.

Other than that mega-gaggle of snow geese (the ones in the video), there wasn't much of a fly-in at the flight deck. There we were, me thinking I'd put the camera down and watch the action this time, and there wasn't much action. Wah.

I did get a couple of images of snow geese this year but for the most part they were too distant for my 500mm or even with the 1.4x.

A group of Sandhill Cranes in flight at Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico.

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In the predawn minutes on the crane ponds at Bosque del Apache refuge, sandhill cranes are beginning to stir, after a chilly night's rest. I can see shapes and movement across the water, but it is far too dark to make out details. The camera has a hard time finding focus, and it's impossible to gather a clear photo of objects in motion. Sandhill cranes, rejuvenated from their repose, begin to dance and frolic. I focus the camera as well as I can, and try to capture the essence of what it means to awaken to the joy of being a sandhill crane. With a gangly grace, they turn, bow, jump and run. Adults and even the juvenile cranes join in the fun. By the time the sun has broken the horizon most of the cranes have already flown off and dancing is a passing thought, giving way to the mornings task of finding the next meal. Ah, the joys of being a sandhill crane!

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Second bird is sporting an ice bracelet.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refiuge. Socorro Co., New Mexico.

jan 12 20-n-119 Sunrise of Snow Goose flying in alternate directions (Anser caerulescens) at the flight deck, Bosque del Apache NWR in San Antonio, NM. (11 degrees am)

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Sandhill cranes take to the air at sunrise at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, New Mexico. Each morning the sandhill cranes and snow geese leave the water and fly out to the fields, where they search for leftover grain and insects to eat. Each year thousands of people travel to watch this spectacle, and I sometimes wonder if the birds come here to watch us too!

Sandhill cranes fly across the sky during the Midwest snowstorm this past Sunday. The weather made for a messy driving day and was the culmination of several days of severe cold weather in New Mexico. The birds didn't seem to mind, though, at times, the wind did make it difficult for them to navigate. Their normal fly-in and fly-out patterns seemed to change too, as they negotiated the refuge seeking out areas that were less windy. Falling snow can make photography difficult, as autofocus can frequently be rendered useless. Overcoming the challenges can be rewarding when shooting in adverse weather.

I wonder if these birds waited a while because the lead bird was trying to get rid of its ice bracelet before takeoff.

This pair took off just as the first sun reached the pond

Snow Goose fly-in at the Flight Deck at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

jan 12 20-326 Big Bend slider (Trachemys gaigeae) or Mexican Plateau slider at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - San Antonio NM

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