Wildlife | Bosque del Apache

Recently I decided I needed to see more of New Mexico.  At the same time I also resolved I needed to do more photography.  As you would expect, it culminated in to this post and me resurrecting my photo blog.

For my first attempt, I found a wildlife refuge about 90 minutes south of Albuquerque that is a major migratory stop for birds (the bird count when I was there was approximately 26,000 birds) called Bosque del Apache.  I got my wife up at 5 AM for the drive down, attempting to beat sunrise when "blast off" occurs, in which all the birds milling around in one pond suddenly take off at once.  After 30+ minutes in freezing temperatures with not enough clothing we decided to see the rest of the park, apparently just missing blast off, we'll have to come back and try for that again.  The rest of the park contains a 12 mile driving loop and hiking trails.  It was created as a man-made wetlands area to counteract the lost of habitat due to water usage of the Rio Grande.  The park is definitely a place I plan on returning, next time with extra layers.

Two coyotes came around and took great interest in the flock of birds for 15 minutes.  I never saw them try to make a move.