Numbers Game - Bosque del Apache

Snow Geese and Mallards taking off from a cornfield at Bosque del Apache

One of the astonishing things about Bosque del Apache is the sheer number of birds.

At certain times of day, you can see clouds, swarms, of birds.  It makes me wonder if this was what it was like to see the buffalo herds, or the Passenger Pigeons, or the Carolina Parakeets, or…

Snow Geese and Mallard ducks flying in front of mountain in the evening light, Bosque del Apache

The experience of seeing and hearing these birds is bittersweet.

On the one hand, it’s a religious experience. Awe-inspiring. Standing with your mouth hanging open, alternating between wanting to laugh and cry with joy.

On the other hand, the thoughts of what we’ve already lost in this country, in this world, are nearly crippling. The stunning fragility of what we still have. The Great Plains must have been like the Serengeti at one point.

Snow Geese in the morning light, at Bosque del Apache

Snow Geese in the morning at Bosque del Apache

Snow Geese flying over Sandhill Cranes in the early morning, Bosque del Apache

 

Snow Geese in the early morning, flying into the Crane Ponds at Bosque del Apache

Snow Geese leaving the Crane Ponds in the morning, Bosque del Apache

Here are a couple of videos that I hope convey something of the noise, the life, of the experience.

This first one is a video of a cornfield on The Refuge. I started filming a flock of Sandhill Cranes as they foraged and called to each other. Flocks of Snow Geese came in - they are the white “snow drifts” in the background.

Then flocks of Mallard Ducks come in, pushing the Cranes away from the uncut corn. The Mallards look tiny in comparison with the Cranes and Snow Geese. The ground is black with ducks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTqW46lGfQk

This second video is of The Crane Ponds at Bosque del Apache, first thing in the morning.

A few Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese roost on the ponds at night.

As the sun comes up more birds come to the Ponds from all over the Refuge. They use the Ponds as a staging area. The Ponds are covered with cacophonous swarms of birds. Then, something triggers a roaring, wing-clapping mass exodus of the birds, off to forage in the fields along the Rio Grande River valley.

It’s mind-blowing to think of these spectacles happening every day.