Posts in Category: New Mexico
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wild Turkey (Rio Grande Subspecies), Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro New Mexico
These nice plump Wild Turkeys are not destined for anyone’s Thanksgiving table. They are plump because they live on the refuge at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of Socorro New Mexico, where the living is easy…lots of corn and other fodder planted to sustain the population of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese, and freely available for the wandering herd of Turkeys…and only natural predators…Coyote, Bobcat, and Mountain Lion (and Fox, Raccoon, Opossum, and snakes for the eggs and pults). Only! Still, the population of Wild Turkey is obviously healthy at the Bosque. And that is something to be thankful for 🙂
There are five subspecies of Wild Turkey. When I saw these Turkeys I assumed they were Merriman’s, since that is the most common in the West. A little googleing this morning, however, showed that they are the much rarer (in New Mexico) Rio Grande subspecies…which exists in New Mexico only along the Rio Grande, specifically right around Socorro and Bosque del Apache, and a few other rivers further east. The Rio Grande is the most numerous subspecies in Texas, and also exists in Oklahoma and Kansas. I should have known better. Merriman’s are restricted to Ponderosa Pine and other dry mountain forest habitats. Interesting.
So, thankful Turkeys. And of course, a reminder to remember and numerate the many, many things we have to thankful for in these United States…beginning with family and abundant fodder, and extending out to election year politics. Whatever we think of the results of this year’s election, we are truly privileged to live in a country where we do, for better or worse, get to pick our President (or at least the electors who pick our President). And in between, well, an environment still healthy enough to support 5 subspecies of Wild Turkey, a National Wildlife Refuge system dedicated to protecting so many other species (though both are under attack), the right to free speech and assembly, the right to practice the religion of our choice (and the faith that sustains us), the privilege of loving and being loved, the wonder of waking up every day free to pursue the best the day has to offer. We have a lot to be thankful for. We have come a long way since the first Thanksgiving, and we have come that way, mostly, together. I can only hope that we will continue along the same path, despite the occasional predator…and like the 5 species of Wild Turkey, we will all be here to celebrate next year and for all our years to come. Happy Thanksgiving!
Just a few Snow Geese…
Snow and Ross’ Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro New Mexico
Snow and Ross’ Geese rising from Flight Deck Pond, just moments after I first turned onto the Tour Loop at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro New Mexico last week.
Sony RX10iii at 92mm equivalent field of view. 1/1000th @ ISO 100 @ f6.3 (Program Mode). Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Face off!
Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro New Mexico
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is an ideal place to practice action wildlife photography. The Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese are always doing something. These two cranes are having a dispute over…well, it is hard to say. This group of cranes had a lot of this kind of action while I was watching but I never could determine the cause. This is two adults. It is not breeding season. Who knows what was going on, but it makes a dynamic image.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode with continuous focus. Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Stars of the show!
Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro New Mexico
The Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of Socorro, New Mexico is over for another year. This image captures both of the stars of the show. Sandhill Cranes above, and Snow Geese below. The Geese fly considerably faster than the cranes. I was tracking the Cranes for a shot when the Geese photo bombed. And that is the only way it could have happened. I could not have gotten this shot intentionally. 🙂
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode (my saved Birds in Flight Mode…with wide area and continuous focus, and minimum shutter speed ISO set). Processed in Photo Mate3 on my Android tablet.
Geese rising… Happy Sunday!
Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro New Mexico
“If your eye is generous, your whole being is full of light!” Jesus
Though it is the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache NWR near Socorro New Mexico, it is probably the Snow Geese that keep people coming back. Standing beside a field of Geese when they startle and rise all at once is an experience that inspires wonder and delight in almost everyone who sees it. The Geese are beautiful. The action is spectacular. The sound of the calls and the wings is overwhelming. The energy is undeniable. Once experienced it wakens the appetite for more. I talked to one couple, originally from Cincinnati Ohio, who moved to Albuquerque in part because of their experience at Bosque del Apache. It is that impressive. Impressive enough to change the course of a life.
And of course, the generous eye is always looking for experiences like the Geese rising…life-changing experiences. Experiences that speak directly to the spirit in us…and speaks the greatness of the Spirit that creates all in love. Awe inspiring experiences. If your eye is generous you will find them everywhere. Bosque del Apache is just a very obvious, and accessible, example.
So, happy Sunday, and may you find your Geese rising experience today! It just may change your life.
(I caught this image with the Sony RX10iii and processed it in Photo Mate 3 on my Android tablet.)
Snow Geese and the moon…
Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro New Mexico
No, this is not a PhotoShop image. Patience, and some cooperative Snow Geese at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of Socorro New Mexico, yesterday morning, made this shot possible. I saw it coming, and zoomed back to increase my chances of catching the action. I have a whole sequence of similar shots as the Geese passed in front of the moon, but this one, with the flock framing the moon had the most pleasing composition. I feel privileged to have been able to record it! 🙂
Sony RX10iii at 487mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode (my specialized saved settings for Birds in Flight, with wide area continuous focus). Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Crane coming in…
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro New Mexico
Yesterday morning, before the winds came up, the light was beautiful at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of Socorro, New Mexico. A large group of Sandhill Cranes was feeding along the north end of the Tour Loop, where the refuge staff had knocked down standing corn for them. It was next to a field of winter wheat, planed by one of the families that farms the Bosque on shares, and there was much coming and going between the fields. I caught this Sandhill coming in above the wheat. You get a real sense of the power of these big birds which their matching wingspan.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. My specialized Birds in Flight Mode, using Continuous Focus, with the Auto ISO set to provide a minimum 1/1000th second exposure. Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Snow Geese at dawn
Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of Socorro, New Mexico
One of the most popular activities at the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is, believe it or not, to get up at 4am to be at the Refuge in time to stand in the cold beside a body of water in the dark and wait for the sunrise. Generally, if you have picked your spot correctly, just before the sun crests the horizon, the Snow Geese will rise from the water and fly off to feed in fields deeper in the Refuge, followed shortly but the Sandhill Cranes. Seeing the Geese and Cranes rise in the dawn light is what brings the folks out that early, and it is indeed an experience not to be missed. I do it once at least on each visit. Yesterday I actually taught a workshop and had 4 other intrepid souls with cameras beside me at the pond in the dark, and were amply rewarded.
This is a small flock of Snow (and Ross’) Geese moving just as the first light came into the sky. Sony RX10iii. Program Mode. Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Snow Geese Rising
Snow and Ross” Geese, Bosque del Apache NWR near Socorro New Mexico
After my morning workshop at Bosque del Apache’s Festival of the Cranes (Intro to Point and Shoot Nature Photography) I went out for a quick drive around the Refuge Tour Loop. There are not a lot of Snow and Ross’ Geese in yet (too warm still north of here), but what there were were all on the main Flight Deck Pond near the entrance station. I pulled over to get a few pics. I was isolating a Snow Goose with 1200mms (using Clear Image Zom) when the Geese suddenly rose and took flight. I swung the camera up and caught this close up of the rise. The circled long enough so I got many more shots of them in the air, but this one catches the sheer energy better than most. 🙂
Sony RX10iii at 1200mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, Cochiti, New Mexico
We spent the day at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in Cochiti, New Mexico yesterday. We finished the day’s hiking (which is to say my legs had had enough) by about 2:30, and had a dinner appointment in Albuquerque at 5:30 so we had some time. I sat at a picnic table and processed pictures from the day on my tablet. As it was getting time to think about moving on, Carol, who was in the car knitting, leaned out the window and said, “look to your left.” I obeyed, and there was a Black-tailed Jackrabbit sitting not 20 feet away in a patch of sun. By the time I got my camera out, it had moved closer, and it kept coming until it was sitting about 12 feet from my table. I, of course, took way too many pictures. 🙂 The Jackrabbit is actually a hare, the third largest in North America, and is certainly an impressive beast. Compared to a Desert Cottontail, which shares its habitat, it is huge…heavy and dominated by those very large ears and the equally as large eye. Impressive.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.