Photophys.com: The Science of Photography

My wife and I visited Bosque del Apache in late January and were there for the full moon. Reports online had indicated that the bird count in 2009/2010 was low and that some of the magic was gone. This was my first trip so I couldn't compare directly with other years; however, we had a great time with many photo opportunities. I show the bird count here.

In January, 2010, few birds were visible from the "flight deck." The crane ponds by the highway a few miles north of the visitor center were the center of attention for photographers in the early mornings and late afternoons. Both ponds had many sandhill cranes and snow geese with a beautiful background of mountains. We found perhaps a hundred photographers in place well before sunrise at 20F, and their discomfort was well rewarded by cranes breaking out of the ice and taking off with difficulty from the slick surface. The early morning light is excellent at that location as shown by my photo of a couple of cranes in flight.

Also, the rising and setting moon was well displayed there as shown here.

     Later in the day we enjoyed the Farm Loop and Marsh Loop drives and saw many hawks, eagles, sandhill cranes, snow geese, roadrunners, western meadow larks, pheasants (two), red wing black birds, northern shovelers, northern pintails, and a variety of other birds and ducks. Mule deer and coyotes were also visible.  For more of my 2010 photos from Bosque see: www.unc.edu/~johnsonc/Bosque-WhiteSands10WEB/index.htm

     I would like to commend the staff and the volunteers for making Bosque del Apache such a well run and user friendly wildlife refuge. The roads are well maintained and there are numerous well sited viewing platforms equipped with binoculars. There are also portable toilets at the viewing decks and some of them accommodate handicapped visitors. The visitor center is close to the viewing areas and is stocked with books and gifts as well as coffee and snacks.

     Our experience at Bosque del Apache was in stark contrast to what we found at Pocosin Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. At the Pocosin Refuge the roads (that were open) were almost impassable, there was one poorly situated viewing deck, and we found no portable toilets. Furthermore the visitor center was about 20 miles away in Columbia. We found it almost impossible to get good views of the snow geese and tundra swans on Pungo Lake. Occasionally, we could find geese and swans feeding on fields in the refuge with posted no trespassing signs. Presumably the signs make up for inadequate patrolling of the area. There are actually more migratory birds at Pocosin that at Bosque. We believe that the Pocosin area could be developed into the "Bosque of the East." There are parallels. Both refuges are about 20 miles from accommodations and about a hundred miles from a metropolitan area. In both case the neighboring areas are relatively poor and greatly benefit from tourism.

     "Friends" groups can make a big difference. The Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is an effective group. See: http://www.friendsofthebosque.org/

We are happy to see that there is also a Pocosin friends group: See: http://www.pocosinlakesfriends.org/ We encourage participation in the work of these organizations.