Bosque in January

Considering a trip to Bosque in January. Any information/tips/etc. would be appreciated.

I've only been there once, and it was in January. My biggest tip: prepare for bone-chilling cold!

Batteries have a hard time in that cold; keep a spare or two in your inside pocket... you will need them.

Before sunrise, fingers, toes, ears and nose need to be covered. Otherwise, you will be so miserable that making pictures will become a secondary consideration.

Have a great time!

"Hot hands" heating packets are great to have in your pockets for dawn and dusk.

Ponds north of the bosque are often the best place at these times.

More info here and on the web. http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=49925&CGISESSID=67822427aaab94ce83313bb11d9612a2&u=28531

Ditto on the cold, but it's worth it.

When the north ponds are active, I much prefer them over the flight deck, for both sunrise and sunset.

This year the ponds as you enter the Bosque are filled and have been great for morning and even later shoots. Those ponds do not always have water but do this year. It has been very cold in the morning (I was down 3 times in November) but the days often warm up significantly compared to the mornings. As we head into late December and then January you have to been prepared for bad weather (ice already closed I-25 near Socorro for a few hours once this season, I think they only have 1 snowplow in that area) that can make it difficult just to get to the Bosque. If you're not just looking for the cranes and geese don't forget the native plant garden behind the visitor center. There were pyrrholoxia, curved-billed thrashers, verdins, yellow-crowned sparrows, ladder-backed woodpeckers, etc there in November. They have also been having more than rare sightings of bobcats, mountain lions, and javelina. You should check out the Friends of the Bosque website as they keep a weekly count of the major winter birds and any unusual sighting posted there.

Thank you to everyone for the links and current information.

Sally, sounds like you spend a fair amount of time there. Any additional information on where to get some images of the bobcats and mountain lions would be appreciated. If you would prefer to email me, ozarksphotos at me dot com will work. Or anyone else for that matter. Like birds, wild animals really gets my heart pumping.

A friend of mine saw a bobcat mom and kitten on the Marsh Loop a couple weeks ago near dusk. Talking to the ladies at the visitor center, who are a goldmine of information, they said bobcats have been seen with simi-regularity on the Marsh Loop this year. Mountain lions have been seen and have caused a concern such that warning signs are posted on the bathroom doors. The ladies at the visitor center had photos of a mountain lion taken by visitors also on the Marsh Loop. My recommendation is to stop by the visitor center when you arrive (they open fairly early) and ask them what has been seen and where lately. They will gladly share that info with you and only ask that you let them know if you see anything unique so they can pass it on. I wish you luck because as always with elusive wildlife that's what you need in addition to determination and good eyes. I spotted a Sungrebe at the Bosque back in November 2008. An alert went out on the rare bird net and 30 people saw and photographed it a couple days later and then it was never seen again. You just never know what you might find unless you look. Once again. Good luck and have a great time.

Been contemplating on heading down there in the next few weeks or so. Thanks for the info.

Check out http://www.photographamerica.com for their guide to Bosque. Also, Artie Morris probably has the definitive guide to photographing Bosque. Check out his site at http://www.birdsasart.com. Ralph Paonoia (sp?) also has an online guide on his Web.

Ken