Bosque del Apache - in April

I know that April is not the prime time to go to Bosque, but since I will be
in the vicinity, I would like to know if it is worth a stop for a
sunset/sunrise.
I would be glad to photograph any birds, but roadrunners in particular.
Any input is appreciated.

Thanks.

--
Judit Fabian
University of Vermont
(802)656-9722

From: "Judit Fabian"

I know that April is not the prime time to go to Bosque, but since I will be
in the vicinity, I would like to know if it is worth a stop for a
sunset/sunrise.
I would be glad to photograph any birds, but roadrunners in particular.
Any input is appreciated.

Hi Judy,

Almost all the big flocks of cranes and light geese (snow, Ross, blue) are gone
by April, so the great sunrise shots of thousands of birds in flight against
colorful skies won't be available.

I posted some shots from Bosque recently, you can see them at
http://members.aol.com/hiltonfotogra...sque/index.htm ... most were made
between mid-November and mid-February, but the avocet (row 2 column 3) and the
white-faced ibis (r4c1) were shot the first week in April a couple years ago.
I've never seen either species there in the winter so it was a nice bonus.

I was on my way to White Sands and stopped by for an evening and morn ...
basically they were draining the ponds so they could grow food for the cranes
and geese next year and in a couple of spots the water had pooled near the road
trapping thousands of fish, and there were several ibis and egrets and herons
squabbling over this bounty. I have several nice shots of a snowy egret in
threat mode shot with a 70-200 mm f/2.8, for example.

When my wife saw the pics she wanted to go get her own avocet photo so we went
back the third week in April but the ponds were pretty much dried out by then,
with no avocets or ibis, though there were five GB herons nesting.

In early April you should be able to see a lot of pheasants (similar to the one
on the web site I referenced), since the males are fighting each other for
territory and breeding rights and are more in the open and less skittish. I
have a couple of good frames of two ringnecks squabbling, for example. I also
saw more roadrunners in April but sometimes they will stick close to you and
other times they are running away no matter what you do. Also there are good
chances on coyotes in April, I found. Lots of ducks and I got good frames of
red-wing blackbirds and what is either a Clark's grebe or a Western grebe
(can't figure out which one, probably a Western). There are a lot of resident
hawks, especially harriers, red-tails and kestrels, but the bald eagles were
gone when we were there in April. And I saw and photographed several
pyrrhuloxia in April as well. There were also good sized flocks of smaller
shore birds attracted to the mud flats as the ponds dried out. I can't help
much with the species, but at the visitor center they usually have a daily bird
count and a listing of oddities seen recently so stop by the front desk and
check it out on your way in.

It's worth a stop, the earlier in April the better, just don't expect to see
many cranes or geese. And White Sands is definitely worth a day or two for
landscape, if you have time.

Bill