Bosque del Apache, December 15, 2018
Dec 17, 2018 09:01:51 #
I enjoyed a weekend at the BdA, camping overnight, and staying warm... Lots of birds this year! There are large numbers of cranes and snow geese feeding in the fields, and different (from last year) areas are flooded. If it is sheer numbers you want to see, they are at "Bernado" - in massive numbers! I have a sequence of the Hooded Merganser working on swallowing a big crawdad on my site if you want to see the whole thing... https://ralphlind.smugmug.com/Nature/Bosque-del-Apache-December-15-2016/i-sKJ4sCR/A
Took him about 10 minutes to get it down...
Took him about 10 minutes to get it down...
Dec 17, 2018 09:10:35 #
Dec 17, 2018 09:17:31 #
Dec 17, 2018 09:26:08 #
Great images! I'm going the 28th of Dec for a couple of days then down to White Sands since it's kinda on the way home. Where did you camp? I am taking a very compact motor home- can you tell me the best place to park it? Best time of day to see these birds? Thanks.
Dec 17, 2018 09:35:53 #
suntouched wrote:
Great images! I'm going the 28th of Dec for a couple of days then down to White Sands since it's kinda on the way home. Where did you camp? I am taking a very compact motor home- can you tell me the best place to park it? Best time of day to see these birds? Thanks.
The only way to get sunrise images is to be there before sunrise ... But otherwise, all through the day can be excellent depending on the quality / direction of light and where you can find birds relative to your position. It can be at freezing until mid morning being December. There are partially harvested corn fields throughout the preserve that attract flocks of snow geese and sandhills. There are two 1-way circuits, a north and a south, and the whole preserve is oriented north-south. In the morning, try for locations on the east side or the sections of the circuit that run east-west. In the afternoon, try for locations on the west side. And hope for clear, and maybe a bit warmer, weather.
Dec 17, 2018 09:42:34 #
Thanks. Weather has been "cold" in Az and cloudy relative to usual temperatures. I will go prepared. I need to find a place to park the motor home overnight. It is compact enough to get around easily (25 ft). I saw that there was an area to camp nearby. If it's like the area at Whitewater here in S. Az, it's all dry camping and first come first serve which is fine. I don't need anything but level ground.
CHG_CANON wrote:
The only way to get sunrise images is to be there ... (show quote)
Dec 17, 2018 09:47:19 #
suntouched wrote:
Thanks. Weather has been "cold" in Az and cloudy relative to usual temperatures. I will go prepared. I need to find a place to park the motor home overnight. It is compact enough to get around easily (25 ft). I saw that there was an area to camp nearby. If it's like the area at Whitewater here in S. Az, it's all dry camping and first come first serve which is fine. I don't need anything but level ground.
The visitors center has a lot of information and they keep track of where people are seeing / reporting various wildlife. If you can arrive in the afternoon, you can stop in and talk as well as drive around the preserve to get oriented. You can then go straight to the preserve next day a bit prepared on where to start.
Dec 17, 2018 09:53:32 #
I will be getting in at mid day so I will do just what you said! I didn't realize there was a visitor center available. Looking forward to the trip. Taking my teenage granddaughter and sister. We live about 5 hours from the preserve so this can be a "test" run.
CHG_CANON wrote:
The visitors center has a lot of information and they keep track of where people are seeing / reporting various wildlife. If you can arrive in the afternoon, you can stop in and talk as well as drive around the preserve to get oriented. You can then go straight to the preserve next day a bit prepared on where to start.
Dec 17, 2018 11:22:40 #
Dec 17, 2018 11:31:16 #
Dec 17, 2018 11:40:30 #
Dec 17, 2018 11:59:17 #
Dec 17, 2018 13:34:10 #
suntouched wrote:
Thanks. Weather has been "cold" in Az and cloudy relative to usual temperatures. I will go prepared. I need to find a place to park the motor home overnight. It is compact enough to get around easily (25 ft). I saw that there was an area to camp nearby. If it's like the area at Whitewater here in S. Az, it's all dry camping and first come first serve which is fine. I don't need anything but level ground.
suntouched, there is a small RV park on the west side of the road as you approach the Bosque from the north. It's about 2 or 3 miles from the visitors center. Nothing fancy, just gravel but has full hook ups which makes things a lot more comfortable in freezing weather. And it will be freezing. If you can't find the owner just drive in and choose a site, the owner will show up eventually. I stay there every time I go to the Bosque.
Dec 17, 2018 13:56:13 #
Thanks so much for that information. I have propane for heat and a generator so I probably won't need hookups but always nice to know that they are there.
Retired CPO wrote:
suntouched, there is a small RV park on the west side of the road as you approach the Bosque from the north. It's about 2 or 3 miles from the visitors center. Nothing fancy, just gravel but has full hook ups which makes things a lot more comfortable in freezing weather. And it will be freezing. If you can't find the owner just drive in and choose a site, the owner will show up eventually. I stay there every time I go to the Bosque.
Dec 17, 2018 18:14:17 #
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