Claret-cup cactus bloom photographed at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico.

jan 12 20-n-2631 Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) at south pond at Bosque del Apache NWR

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Three mule deer pause on a cold December morning at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico.

Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis). Early morning fly-out. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Socorro Co., New Mexico.

Long after the sun had set behind the mountains, silhouettes of cranes -- and their dances and displays -- were still visible.

GH4 + Nikon 300mm f2.8 ais, 1/5s, using manual focus

Captured at 1/30s by panning with the bird as he ran, using manual focus.

This was one of the most spectacular wildlife scenes that I've ever witnessed. I shot the footage for this video in 2017 at Bosque del Apache NWR, and have been thinking about creating it for four (!) years. It was time.

The experience of watching that many ducks lift off was indescribable, but the music that I chose does the best job of conveying the emotion I felt that can be shared through video.

If you'd like to watch this in up to 4K, please watch it on my Vimeo site: vimeo.com/617160984

A Sandhill Crane making a slippery landing on an icy pond at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico.

Argia apicalis

Snow geese drift down like frozen flakes onto the fields at New Mexico's Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio. Each year tens of thousands of light geese travel south to over winter at the refuge. They spend their day flying in and out of fields and retention ponds, making for beautiful vistas for those who choose to watch. If predictions are correct snow geese may have some competition tomorrow, as real snow is predicted to arrive. We'll see what the weather brings!

Something a little different from this morning before the sun reached the cranes, digiscoped in manual focus, panning with the birds at a low ISO and 1/40 sec.

Adult is grey overall, with dull red skin on the crown and lores; whitish chin and upper throat; blackish primaries. Cranes may stain their upper back feathers, lower neck and breast with ferrous solution contained in the mud while preening with muddy bills. In winter, they regularly feed in dry fields consuming corn (as above), insects, amphibians and rodents, returning to water at night.

Compare with Sarus Crane, Demoiselle Crane, Common Crane, Whooping Crane.

Nikon 200-400mm f/4G lens, x1.4, f/5.6, 1/3200s, ISO 400, NPF

Thanks to all of you who fave and/or comment on the photograph!

@ Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico

Dancing in high winds must be a lot of fun when you have wings.

Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico

As I was photographing Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes yesterday morning, I noticed three geese that were flying more like fighter pilots than geese. The were in tight formation and stayed together round and round and up and down for at least a few minutes. I couldn't figure out why they were flying like that - until they landed - and there was a violent fight in the water. When I went back and looked at each of the photos I took of them, it is clear that the last one has a bead on the middle one. I think these are Ross's Geese, but they may be Snow Geese.

You didn't really think I would go all the way to New Mexico and not get a shot or two of Big Blue.

Taken at the Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico.

View Large and On Black

No words to describe photographing this sunrise....

jan 12 20-n-417 Two Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and raven intermingle in dead tree at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - San Antonio NM

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Good thing there was a railing to use as a tripod, I was shivering pretty well by this time. Hiking in cold weather is one thing, standing around and waiting is quite another.

This is still an ongoing wave of geese - when are the cranes going to leave?

Just felt like posting a photo this evening. There's just no better palette than the New Mexico sky. Even with all the bad weather we had the week I was at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge I still came home amazed at the sky. There is just something magical about the Land of Enchantment. It will keep me coming back

Mule deer at the Bosque del Apache NWR.

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Autumn is almost upon us and across areas of the country snow will begin to fall. It will fall not just as silent icy flakes, but also as cacophonous feathered fowl. In this photo snow geese fly out to the fields in New Mexico's Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, after a long migration from the northern reaches of the American continent. Snow geese are foragers that feed on a variety of roots, shoots, and grains. They are some of nature's most successful animals. Some environmentalist believe that they may be too successful, and that their large numbers may be damaging the delicate northern tundra. It is an area that requires more study. These large flocks are, without doubt, I sight to see and hear. #ILoveBirds #ILoveNature #ILoveWildlife #WildlifePhotography in #NewMexico #Nature in the #USA #SnowGeese #ItsSnowingGeese #Geese #Birds #Birding #Photography #Picoftheday #Photooftheday

Get out your tissues before reading the following. On our last morning at Bosque del Apache, out of nowhere appeared a Greater Roadrunner, the bird we were focused on finding and photographing. And he was walking toward us with a mouse in his bill. This was the break of a lifetime and my wife and I quickly starting shooting. He got closer and closer until he was within fifteen feet of us when he disappeared into the brush. The sad part for me was later, when I looked at my shots, I realized that, in my excitement, I had kept my 100-400mm lens locked at 100mm. Thus, instead of filling the frame with a super-sharp image, I have this. The good news is that my wife got fabulous, full-frame shots. Please don't send sympathy cards. I have gotten over it (but it took a while). The other Roadrunner species, the Lesser Roadrunner, which is smaller, is a native of Mexico and Central America.

Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico

Sandhill Crane against the sunset colors reflected in the pond.

Sandhill Cranes head out to forage for the day.