Posted by Monika Chace on November 2, 2013 at 9:56 PM
I have a friend who is planning on going to Bosque del Apache in Dec (Dec 16-20). He'll be flying in to Albuquerque, arriving around 1, planning on 1 day at White Sands and the rest at Bosque. He's never been there before. Do any of you have advice for him? Thanks in advance.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on November 3, 2013 at 12:32 AM
Posted by Larry Douglas on November 3, 2013 at 12:09 PM
The web site "Friends of the Bosque" is full of information and bird counts starting in mid-November. There is a visitor's center at the Bosque that has useful information of bird counts and where the different bird are located. If the weather is nice he should not have any problem finding lots of birds to shoot. The first week of December Last years there were over 42,000 light geese and 8500 sandhill cranes on the reserve!
Posted by Phillip Noll on November 3, 2013 at 12:23 PM
Be there for sunrise and for sunset. No exceptions!
Posted by Bill Bean on November 4, 2013 at 12:26 AM
Not sure how well this will work cause I'm awful at resizing stuff but let's see. Here is a map of the Bosque. A friend who photographs there a lot recommended: 1. Be at the "Flight Deck" for first light and blast off. 2) Jump in your vehicle and head over to the ponds after blast off.
When I was there I wasn't ready for blast off at the Flight Deck but did manage to get to the ponds in time for a smaller blast off there. Most of my best images came from sunset on the ponds when the cranes and geese are coming in for the night.
Posted by Bob Maynard on November 4, 2013 at 11:54 AM
Monica: There is an incredible e-book available for this... http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/store/bosque-del-apache-site-guide-by-arthur-morris.html More info than you can use in a short trip!
Posted by Don Grall on November 4, 2013 at 8:38 PM
If your friend follows the map and advice from Bill, he will have a good trip. Arthur Morris's book is also excellent.
In between the sunrises and sunsets, just drive the roads and look for other species like Roadrunner, White-winged Pheasant, Great Blue Heron, cormorant, ducks, coyote, turkey, etc. Definitely recommend he takes a lunch with him, especially if there are clouds which can enable mid-day shooting. A blue sky, no clouds day can be tough. The visitor center has lots of smaller birds visiting their feeders and they are easy to shoot as well.
Posted by Monika Chace on November 6, 2013 at 9:46 PM
Thanks, everyone for your input. I'm sure my friend will get some good information from what you've posted. Boy, $50 for a PDF? I guess I'm not nearly as serious of an avian photographer as his market must be!
Posted by Kurt Bowman on November 18, 2013 at 12:32 PM
Hi Monika, I am late to the discussion (haven't posted in awhile). I go to Bosque most years and sometimes multiple times. I think everyone has provided great advice so far. I don't want to duplicate what others have said, so in addition, here are a couple more things (some may seem obvious).
1. Dress Warm. Temps in mid December can reach zero pretty easy in Bosque...depends on the year, but be prepared (can you tell I used to be a boyscout?)
2. Subjects can be approached closer at Bosque than Monte Vista or in Nebraska, but still bring a good fast telephoto prime if he has one. A 500 is perfect, 300 with extender and/or a 400 will work well for flight shots also.
3. This might be obvious, but see people make this mistake every year. Cranes are large birds and HAVE to take off into the wind, so in addition to having the light at your back, always position yourself downwind...they will then fly towards you.
4. What everyone else has already posted. :)
5. As a side note...Grab a green chili cheese burger at the Bukhorn Tavern in San Antonio, NM...worth the stop...yum
Discussion
8 repliesWhen I was there I wasn't ready for blast off at the Flight Deck but did manage to get to the ponds in time for a smaller blast off there. Most of my best images came from sunset on the ponds when the cranes and geese are coming in for the night.
In between the sunrises and sunsets, just drive the roads and look for other species like Roadrunner, White-winged Pheasant, Great Blue Heron, cormorant, ducks, coyote, turkey, etc. Definitely recommend he takes a lunch with him, especially if there are clouds which can enable mid-day shooting. A blue sky, no clouds day can be tough. The visitor center has lots of smaller birds visiting their feeders and they are easy to shoot as well.
1. Dress Warm. Temps in mid December can reach zero pretty easy in Bosque...depends on the year, but be prepared (can you tell I used to be a boyscout?)
2. Subjects can be approached closer at Bosque than Monte Vista or in Nebraska, but still bring a good fast telephoto prime if he has one. A 500 is perfect, 300 with extender and/or a 400 will work well for flight shots also.
3. This might be obvious, but see people make this mistake every year. Cranes are large birds and HAVE to take off into the wind, so in addition to having the light at your back, always position yourself downwind...they will then fly towards you.
4. What everyone else has already posted. :)
5. As a side note...Grab a green chili cheese burger at the Bukhorn Tavern in San Antonio, NM...worth the stop...yum