Bosque del Apache – Excites your sense of wonder

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful wetland in the New Mexico high desert. Nothing can prepare you for the fly-in of thousands of birds at dawn and early morning at sunrise the fly-out. (a 3 minutes video gives you a short introduction)
 

Imagine about 70,000 snow and ross’s geese, 40,000 ducks, and 12,000 cranes.
You can watch Mule-ear deer, coyotes, and many other species in the refuge.
 

Bosque del Apache is about a 3-hour leisurely scenic drive along U.S.Route 41 & 60, southwest of Santa Fe next to the Rio Grande River. There are Chupadera Mountains to the west and San Pascual Mountain to the east.
 

For centuries, the birds have been using the bosque (forest in Spanish) along this part of the Rio Grande Valley. Local farmers were encouraged to grow crops on the refuge for the wintering birds. There is also winter wheat, clover, and native plants as additional food.
 

As a visitor or a photographer, you want to arrive at least one hour before sunrise. For our trip, the alarm was set for 4:30 am. Cindy and I arose, dressed warmly in layers, checked out from the hotel, and drove from Socorro to the refuge. 
 

When we arrived at the bosque, all was quiet except for the sound of awakening birds. The geese seem to squawk at once and once fully awake, they never stop squawking. And they are hungry. Suddenly the sun rises over the horizon, and they literally lift-off in unison. Then the ducks fly off. In the end, the cranes take off in family groups with wingspan between 6ft and 8ft (1.8m – 2.5m)
 

Just as the early morning fly-out happens within a minute, so does the fly-in just before sunset. Here they come in thousands, flying over you, landing in the pond. It is so fascinating to see them.
 

While you stand and wonder, there is another spectacle going on. Swirling blackbirds, thousands of them, fly through the air together in controlled chaos. It is called a murmuration. They dance through the air, and somehow, all of them end up resting on a tree. A few minutes later, off they go for another dance. 
 

A visit to the bosque leaves you speechless and excites your sense of wonder. It triggers a lot of emotion. It also shows you how vulnerable those birds are when humans destroy their habitat.
 

Here as well, you can notice climate change. The ponds used to be full of water from the melting snow in spring and then the summertime monsoon. Nowadays, the water has to be regulated so the birds have a safe place during the night. The number of birds coming here during the winter months is getting smaller. As a result of higher temperatures, some cranes stay up in Colorado as well as north of the US.
 

After the evening and morning spectacles, you work up an appetite. Luckily, only a few minutes away from the Bosque, in San Antonio, is the Owl Bar & Café. It’s a fourth generation establishment serving the same food as it did in 1945. It became famous when “strangers” visited regularly. Those “strangers” were atomic scientists who would later activate the Trinity Site explosion, the first test of the atomic bomb used to end the war with its devastation of two Japanese cities. 
 

Today the owl is famous for its chili burger and the bar itself, originally from Conrad Hilton’s first rooming house in San Antonio.
 

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