Bosque del Apache

Sunday arrived at Cochiti Lake and it was time to move on. After re-fueling on Cochiti Pueblo Regular (20¢ less than that off-pueblo) we were on our way south. The convoy of Speedy and Shiny (Harry & Sally's Roadtrek) made its way to I-25 for a brisk 143 mile drive to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

We pulled into the Bosque del Apache Birdwatchers RV Park at about 2pm, just in time for a late lunch. The Birdwatchers RV Park is an unremarkable commercial park, just an open graveled field with electric and water hookups, a small ablutions block with a single shower and a strange but personable older owner...but it is on the edge of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge...location, location, location. It also has a resident flock of Gambel's Quail that struts along the edges of the RV area.

After checking in at the RV park, we went up to the refuge visitor center, about five miles further, stopping at a couple of flooded ponds along the way. There were lots of ducks and Canada geese already in residence. After talking with the volunteers at the visitor center, picking up the appropriate guides and bird lists, checking out the feeders and seeing our first Roadrunner, it was back to camp to settle in a bit. Harry and I relaxed. Ellen and Sally went looking for birds around the campground.

Ellen, Sally and I took Speedy back into the refuge later in the afternoon to drive the South Tour loop. There are several impoundments that are being flooded as the winter and migrating flocks arrive. We were hoping to be there before sunset as that is when the cranes and geese return for the evening. We weren't disappointed as the beginnings of the Sandhill Crane flock landed in synchronized formation before sunset.

There were lots of ducks already in residence, mostly Northern Pintails, with Mallards, Widgeons and a few Ruddy Ducks, but we were a couple of weeks early for the arrival of the large flocks of geese and the majority of the cranes. We only saw about a dozen Sandhill Cranes and no more than 50 Snow Geese. Later in the season there will be thousands of cranes and tens of thousands of geese. There will be some impressive morning and evening flights then. We made our way around the South Loop and saw a variety of other birds, herons, blackbirds and small birds. The highlight was Ellen's first Say's Phoebe who was sitting on top of a refuge sign by on the side of the road in good light.

It was then back to camp once more for dinner and much needed sleep (except when the freight trains rumbled by right across the road).

On Monday, we were up early to watch the reverse of the evening arrivals. We got out to the Dabbler Deck, the main viewing platform on the South Loop, before dawn. As the sun came up, the Sandhill Cranes, then the Snow Geese took off in large groups heading out to drier fields to feed. We looked for more ducks, but left soon after to do the North tour loop. We saw a fair number of small birds, several raptors, Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Kestrels and our first Turkey Vulture in New Mexico. We also were able to get fairly close to a small group of cranes feeding. At the end, we stopped near a platform called the Flight Deck, a field not yet flooded, so get a look at another Say's Phoebe and also managed to see a Bewick's Wren, another first for Ellen.

Many of the fields and impounds were still dry as it is early in the season. The refuge is very heavily managed and draws water from the Rio Grande in the fall and winter and returns it in the spring and summer. They slowly fill the various areas within the refuge to provide sequential feeding areas for the birds that winter over. It looks like a very interesting and well-managed process.

It was back to camp before noon to pick up Harry and Nina (the dog) for a trip into the nearby village of San Antonio for lunch. San Antonio is the home of the Green Chile Cheeseburger and there are several restaurants that compete for the title of "Best". We chose the Buckhorn, one we went to before on our last trip to this area. It claims to be "#7 in America". I'm not sure what it is seventh of. It also won a Food Network Green Chile Cheeseburger challenge versus Bobby Flay. Needless to say, we all ordered the Green Chile Cheeseburger and a beer (except Steve, who settled for iced tea). The cheeseburgers were quite tasty and the meat was done perfectly. They were also quite large. The iced tea was good and no complained about the beer.

After lunch, it was back to camp where I spent the afternoon. Ellen and Sally went back to the refuge for more birding. (Harry and Nina rode in the back...just along for the ride).

With the huge lunches, dinner was merely a snack outside where we chatted and watched the quail until the sunset, the wind died and the mozzies arrived. By then, it was time to retire anyway.