Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Cranes takeoff

Sandhill Cranes takeoff

Cranes at sunset

Snow Geese and Cranes takeoff

Snow Goose

Snow Goose

Gambel’s Quail

We went to Bosque del Apache south of Albuquerque,NM just after Thanksgiving to photograph the thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese that winter at several wildlife refuges there. There are approx 15,000 cranes and 25,000 snow geese plus a few Bald Eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, and other wildlife. The birds are there from Nov into Feb and then migrate to nesting grounds in Colorado, Nebraska,and Wyoming. The birds roost in shallow ponds overnight and fly out to feed in corn fields on the preserve and nearby. In late afternoon they return to their protective water so they can be photographed taking off in the morning at sunrise or before and landing before sunset. The visitors center has bird feeders for other birds such as Gambel’s Quail, Pyrrhuloxia, Spotted Towhee, and others.

The Department of the Interior is recommending cutting in half several important National Monuments in Southern Utah including Bears Ears, and Grand Staircase-Escalante to allow “development”, which means strip coal mining, and oil and gas drilling. Bears Ears contains precious Native American artifacts, petroglyphs, dwellings, and archeological sites which could be destroyed. Also the Republican Tax bill includes drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Preserve which is critical habitat for millions of birds, Polar Bears, and other wildlife.

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS TODAY TO STOP THIS ASSAULT !!

For more info contact the Sierra Club or Nature Conservancy in my Blog Roll links