Bosque del Apache Archives - Geraint Smith Photography

Blackbirds, sky-glyphs, at the Bosque del Apache, NWR NM. At the iconic National Wildlife Refuge the blackbirds write stories in the skies. Pages upon pages filled with stories. Thanks for looking. G

Bosque del Apache, National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio, NM

Bosque del Apache, National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio, NM. Marsh grasses abound in one of the greatest wildlife refuges in the country. Look it up. You will find the Bosque del Apache is the number one place to see Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese in their winter playground in south central New Mexico. Thanks for looking. G

Monte Vista NWR, CO, Bosque Del Apache, NWR, NM

Monte Vista NWR, CO, Bosque Del Apache, NWR, NM. The Sandhill Cranes head south from the northwest corner of the San Luis Valley, Colorado into New Mexico. Following the Rio Grande, as it winds it’s way through canyons, ancient pueblos and thick cottonwood bosques (woods), they pass through the states largest city Albuquerque. Navigating this way as they have for thousands of years they arrive at the nations premier wildlife refuge. At the Bosque del Apache they settle in for the long winter. The first photo is at Monte Vista, Colorado, in the afternoon. The second photo is from early morning at the Bosque del Apache, New Mexico. Thanks for looking. G

Sandhill Cranes, Bosque Del Apache, NWR

Sandhill Cranes, Bosque Del Apache, NWR, San Antonio, New Mexico. I titled this one, “in coming, pardon me for the intrusion”. Thanks as always for looking. G

Snow Geese, Flashback 2009, Bosque Del Apache, NWR

Snow Geese and moon, flashback to 2009 in the Bosque Del Apache, NWR. There were so many snow geese flying overhead, so I had a lot of opportunities to catch them in front of the moon as it was rising. I’m looking forward to making a number of trips to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge again this winter. As always thanks for looking. G

Western Red-Tailed Hawk, Bosque Del Apache

Western Red-Tailed Hawk, in the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Still going through the archives and finding more images that appeal to me. Thanks for looking. G

Morning Bobcat, Bosque Del Apache

Morning Bobcat, Bosque Del Apache, San Antonio, New Mexico. This cat has nothing to say or do at this moment. Sit, wait, warm up, wait for the guys with the cameras to get lost. Wait some more, then mosey off into the bushes. Then we left. Flash back to last December with my good friend Jon. Thanks for looking. G

White Trees, Willows, A Riparian Habitat

White tree and willows, a riparian habitat in the Bosque del Apache, Socorro, NM. Riparian, I like that word. It inspires me and as such I like to look for these places around waters edge that hold a little mystery. I half expect that what ever inhabits these zones will pop out and surprise me. Sometimes they do, a duck, or heron, once a muskrat. Thanks for looking. G

Snow Goose, Morning On The Icy Pond

Snow Goose, morning on the icy pond slurping up water through the cracks in the ice. When the first rays of morning light hits these fabulous birds, and the sky overhead is New Mexico blue, the scene glistens and warms my heart as the sun warms my back. Thanks for looking. G

Reeds Swimming Through The Marshes

Reeds swimming through the marshes. I made many images down in the Bosque del Apache on the last couple of trips, I’m continually going through them. You’ll see them pop up, from time to time, as I make discoveries that surprise me… after the fact. Thanks for looking. G

Sandhill Cranes Sunset In The Marshes

Sandhill Cranes sunset in the marshes at the Bosque del Apache. There are so many photo ops one encounters in this magnificent National Wildlife Refuge in the Rio Grande Valley southeast of Socorro, New Mexico. Today I chose this one which pleases me very much. In this case it depicts an evening sunset across the marshes with the silhouettes of the Sandhill Crane settling in for the evening. Thanks for looking. G

Great Blue Heron, Bosque del Apache

Great Blue Heron,fishing in the irrigation channels at the Bosque del Apache, San Antonio, NM. I feel like I know this bird personally. Each time we visit the “Bosque” I am sure we are seeing the same bird, in the same location, as on previous visits. Well anyway if it isn’t the same bird, I like to pretend it is. Funny thing though… I feel it knows me! Thanks for looking. G

Juvenile Bald Eagle And Grackle

Juvenile Bald Eagle and Grackle. Here we are in the Bosque del Apache, in the middle of December, south of Socorro, NM where the temps are in the fifties, with a chilling wind that makes our fingers hurt, but we are quite content to stand and watch this scene of the young bald and the grackle ignore each other. The grackle minded it’s own business and the eagle paid attention to everything but the grackle such as geese and hawks and cranes. Thanks for looking. G

Evening Fly In Bosque del Apache

Evening fly in of Sandhill Cranes in the Bosque del Apache, National Wildlife Refuge. The symmetry of these creatures makes me marvel. One minute their wing stroke is all akimbo, followed by this beautiful synchronous attitude. Thanks for looking. G

Great Blue Heron In Flight

Great Blue Heron in flight, Bosque del Apache. I hope you’ll indulge me with a few more posts from the National Wildlife Refuge. This bird obliged by flying alongside the car. It was fun to watch it’s effortless flight and steadfast purpose. It fooled me at the last, as it banked swiftly to its right and over the car. Thanks for looking. G

Javelina Tribe, Bosque Del Apache

Javelina Tribe, on the road in Bosque Del Apache. I’ve only ever seen a single Javelina in the past. These were a few of a larger tribe on this day in the National Wildlife Refuge. They came out of the brush, went into the brush, came back out of the brush and returned to the brush one more time, and then they were gone! Thanks for looking. G