Bosque del Apache Nation Wildlife Refuge near San Antonio, NM. The refuge is in the bird business. This is just one of many ponds. The US Fish and Game do everything to attract birds. They drain ponds, scrape the bottoms, clean and then refill them each year. They raise corn and then knock some down each morning to make sure the birds always return to the same area. Bosque del Apache attracts "birders" from all over the world, particularly to see Sandhill Cranes.
Sandhill Cranes bedding down for the night.
A few of more than 44,000 Snow Geese at Bosque del Apache.
Sandhill Cranes
A flock of Snow Geese. Yes, they are standing on thin ice. These geese mate for life and summer in the Yukon, and Siberia. They are in New Mexico from late October until late February when they return to the Arctic.
Snow Geese in the field.
Sandhill Cranes feeding in a field. Probably Mr. and Mrs. plus junior. Both the geese and cranes spend the night on ponds in the refuge. It is thought they do this so they can hear any approaching coyotes which constantly hunt them. At dawn they all fly up almost at once and head for nearby fields where they feed until sundown when they fly back to the ponds.
This is how the Snow Geese and Cranes leave in the morning
Morning take off
Flying out to the fields.
Sandhill Cranes heading out for the day. The white dots behind them are Snow Geese. The cranes also winter in southern areas like the Bosque. They summer in northern Idaho. Twenty years ago there were only 17 pair at the Bosque. Now there are more than 20,000 birds. Cranes also mate for life and do not have chicks until they are about 7 years old. Both parents raise the young. Chicks stay with their parents until they are about 10 months old. The Sesame Street character Big Bird is modeled on a Sandhill chick.
Sandhill's on the wing. They live to be 20 or so. The female usually lays two eggs but only one chick survives.
Yes, that is snow! It was about 20 degrees each morning.
Tight formation
This is the Very Large Array (VLA) located in western NM about 65 miles from the Bosque. These dishes do radio astronomy for astronomers all over the world. There are 31 dishes spread out over and area the size of metro Washington DC. They are on railroad tracks and are arrayed in different formations depending on the experiment being conducted. The VLA was completed in 1993 but actually opend in 1983. It is in the process of being modernized and upgraded.
Sending and receiving radio signals from outer space. They use radio waves to create pictures of galactic bodies.
The little yellow dots at the very base of the structure right in the center are workmen with hardhats!!!!
The dish assembly building.
A photographer's delight. The light and sky in this area are perfect. It's called The Plains of San Augustin and is rich cattle country.
This is the USA's largest copper mine, located in Morenci, AZ. It takes about 10 minutes going 35 MPH to pass this mine.
The mine employes over 3,000 people. Morenci is about three hours east and north of Tucson. Mining started in 1937.
The Rincon Mountains outside Tucson at sunset.
