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.

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