December,
2004 - Part 1: Bosque del Apache
I have long
wanted to go to Bosque del Apache, having seen so many beautiful
pictures of the birds and general landscape out there. We headed
out there Dec. 2nd, and encountered quite a few photographers,
to say the least! We saw Arthur Morris and Greg Downing out there,
who each had a number of photographers with them, and it was our
understanding that Moose Peterson was also shooting with his own
group. I'm sure there were others I know by name, but wouldn't
have recognized by face. We arrived at the "Flight Deck"
area a little before dawn, and were amazed to see well over a
hundred photographers lined up there, and along the shore all
the way down the road. It was quite a sight!
The weather
was partially cooperative, with clouds a problem at times (and
snow at other times!). We had one particularly memorable morning.
Having gone at dawn for the first two mornings to the main area
where the "blast-off" of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes
occurs, and being elbow to elbow with so many other photographers,
I thought it might be worthwhile going directly to the grain fields
where the birds were all heading once they took off from their
evening roosting locations. So we arrived before dawn, and drove
around the "Farm Loop" to an area near the Farm Deck,
and waited. It was a gorgeous sunrise, and we had a great opportunity
to shoot the birds in wonderful early morning light. And perhaps
the best thing of all is that we had this area virtually entirely
to ourselves for about 2 hours. It was just so serene and beautiful
- definitely one of the highpoints of the trip.
We stayed in
the Socorro area about 4 days, and then headed West. Part 2 will
cover some of the areas we visited, along with a few more shots
from the Socorro area, and a few from a trip to St. Augustine,
FL at the very end of December.
All Content © Donald L. Cohen, MD
All Rights Reserved
Click on each thumbnail to open up a larger image.
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These
images, along with all the others present in the various galleries,
are available for purchase as prints up to 13"x19".
For more details on buying prints, please click here. | |
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Sandhill
Crane in Flight |
Sandhill
Crane Take-off 1 |
Sandhill
Crane Take-off 2 |
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Snow
Goose in Flight |
Snow
Goose - Dark Morph |
Snow
Goose 'Blast-Off' |
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Northern
Shoveler Male |
Mallard
Male in Flight |
Northern
Pintail |
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Snow
Goose Flight Solo |
Snow
Goose Flight Duo |
Snow
Goose Flight Trio |
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Snow
Goose Flight Quartet |
Sandhill
Crane over Grain Field |
Sandhill
Crane - Blue Sky |
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Sandhill
Crane with Red-winged Blackbird |
Sandhill
Crane - Snow Capped Mountain |
Killdeer |