View allAll Photos Tagged BosquedelApacheNWR
I spotted this Roadrunner speeding toward us from a distance away. Every so often, it would stop, survey the situation, then, to my surprise, kept coming. Twice, it took up a threatening stance, determination in its eyes. Seconds after I took this shot, it flew about 18 inches off the ground and, within three feet of me, disappeared into the bushes, no doubt to its waiting chick.
Distinguishing immature Black-crowned Night-Herons from immature Yellow-crowned Night-Herons is tricky. This one is a Black-crowned because it has a yellow and black "pointy" bill. The Yellow-crowned juvie has a bill that is mainly dark and is not as pointy as the Black-crowned. Also, the Black-crowned has more spots on the wing and back than the Yellow-crowned. Source: birdzilla.com
A flock of snow geese fly in to join some roosting geese at Bosque del Apache NWR. A slower shutter speed was used to show motion of the wings.
The top 2 are Snow and the bottom 4 are Ross' allowing comparison of overall size, head shape, beak configuration.
Bosque del Apache, NM
I prefer this one when viewed large on black.
I hit 100,000 views on my stream today, thank you all!!!
It's hard to fathom so many people are looking at my work from all over the world, the internet is truly an amazing thing. Had these been hanging in a famous gallery for the past year I would have been hard-pressed to get 100K visits to my work. Just incredible.
So this post is dedicated to all of you. Thanks for your visits, comments, faves and encouragement. I don't have the words to share how much this means to me. I'm so grateful to be a part of this community.
A lone snow goose comes to join other roosting snow geese at this wetlands called Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
Periodically the red-winged blackbirds would be spooked (by a coyote, harrier, or whatever) and take to the air, offering up nice flashes of red at Bosque del Apache.
- Ralph W. Sockman.
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Sandhill Cranes were the most significant attraction when I decided to stop at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge during our cross-country road trip. I had never seen them before and was excited to photograph them finally. The plan went perfectly. Even though we were at the park for barely a day, there were plenty of cranes around.
The hardest part about photographing sandhill cranes is isolating one bird out of the thousands of birds. This might be an issue specific to Bosque, but I had difficulty separating birds to get good portrait images. The second issue was the way they moved. They spend a lot of time feeding with their beaks in water and then suddenly look up for what seems like nano-seconds before going back to feeding. I struggled quite a bit timing my images but started to get the hang of it after a while. Finally, the most significant limiting factor was the relatively short time we had at the refuge. It is better to stay put at a suitable location at a spot like this. The biggest lesson for me was that the birds will come if you stay long enough.
"Although the barnyard variety is a rather stupid creature (leading to the insulting tone of the term 'turkey'), the original wild form is a wary and magnificent bird. Wild Turkeys usually get around by walking or running, but they can fly strongly, and they typically roost overnight in tall trees. Turkeys were formerly considered to belong to a separate family from other chicken-like birds; there are only two species, ours in North America and the Ocellated Turkey in Central America." Source: aububon.org The red, fleshy protuberance above the beak is called a "snood" and is larger in males than females.
A "construction" or group of Sand Hill Cranes (Grus canadensis) makes their way to the spot where they will take flight from a pond.
Vermilion Flycatcher, male
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, NM
With their bright red plumage, male Vermilion Flycatchers look like tree ornaments when perched after their hawking swoops at flying insects. Their foraging flights are short and direct, aimed at prey such as butterflies, grasshoppers, honeybees, beetles, and crickets. The flight is a swift looping circle that often takes them back to the same perch.
From the archives, shot 10 yrs ago.
Before becoming a national wildlife reserve, Bosque del Apache was farm land. The original irrigation channels are still maintained and provide water to fields of grain or corn for the benefit of migrating birds.
In the dry season, much of what little water there is, is diverted into select ponds to support year-round, resident birds. Later in the year, as the fields are planted, water will again run through this and other sluices. By the time the Sandhill Cranes return in late October, there will be plenty of food to sustain them and other migratory birds through the winter and on to their Spring migration.
- Plato.
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After almost two and half years in Arkansas, we finally decided to move mack to Los Angles last year. While planning the move, we thought it would be a great idea to give our daughter her first road trip. It took me almost a month to plan the trip, but I think barring one day, we managed a pretty relaxing drive from the northwest of Arkansas to sunny southern California. The last time I made a cross-country trip, I drove the entire distance without stopping much, and I would not make the same mistake this time.
So, we decided to take a less busy route and visit some of the spectacular locations on the way. I adjusted my mindset to look at this as a scouting trip as we had minimal time to plan and a temperamental two-year-old to manage. Thankfully everything worked out great. Our daughter loved the outdoors and had a blast. Conditions mainly were tremendous, and I had some portfolio-worthy images without much effort.
One of the locations we visited was the beautiful National Wildlife refuge of Bosque Del Apache. Ever since I heard about this beautiful location, it was on my must-visit list, and finally, I had the chance. We were a bit early for the migrant birds, but I didn’t mind it one bit when I saw how beautiful the whole area was. It might be known for its wildlife, but it is not a bad place for a landscape photographer. I came across this stunning location while we were on our self-drive tour. The perfect stillness and rust-colored foliage on the screen just looked perfect. I took a lot of images of the sandhill cranes at the reserve, but this landscape image was my favorite from this beautiful location.
- Sharon Begley.
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Some days, when you are out in the field, luck turns your way, and everything comes together into a fantastic scene. One such incident occurred recently while I was at Bosque Del Apache NWR. As a newly converted wildlife photographer, I did not have a good time at Bosque. My strategy of driving around and taking wildlife images fell flat, and I realized it was more of a pick a location and stay kind of place.
While driving the self-drive loop around the Refuge, we came across this deserted area and stopped to allow our daughter a break. It was close to sunset, so the golden hour was filling in, and suddenly a massive bull elk appeared by the treeline. I immediately grabbed my camera and hoped he would walk out into the field. And he did just that. It was beyond majestic to witness. By the time the golden light had bathed the field as well. He stood there holding his head high and slowly strolled down the field before disappearing back into the forest. I am thankful we got to experience such an incredible moment, and it more than made up for my mistakes in planning for the visit to Bosque.
Obviously high on the list when at Bosque, I was thrilled when this pair hopped onto a weathered perch and gave me a brief moment to grab a few shots.
A must have species while at Bosque Del Apache, this male Pyrrhuloxia kicked our asses in what seemed like an endless game of "Whack A Mole". Ultimately the bird sat atop the Yucca for a moment offering a nice high key shot.
A pair of Sandhill Cranes engage in a synchronous takeoff at New Mexico's Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.