Trip to the Bosque

My wife and I stopped by the Bosque del Apache National wildlife reserve on the 18th of November and were greeted with an amazing display of light geese (over 42,000) and Sand Hill Cranes (over 6500). We were there during the middle of the day and did not have as many photo ops as are available during the sunrise and sunset hours. However, we saw and photographed many groups of birds and a few individual birds when we could get close enough. We really want to get back there as soon as we can, it was inspiring!

below is a snow geese shot on a medium sized pond.

Hmm, don't see the second shot. You can add it as a comment on this post. I think you did a good job with the lighting in this scene, and you've got a nice "birdscape."

Thanks for the comments Morris: There were lots of 'birdscapes' to be had at the various ponds at the Bosque. Here is a shot my wife took showing a single crane with a large out of focus group in the background. As I said there were lots of bird in the refuge!

I would love to visit this place someday! Until then, I'll visit vicariously through images like these.
I like the first one a lot, while the second is a bit underexposed and lacks contrast. A quick Levels adjustment fixes that right up, though!