Bosque del Apache, December 2020: Afternoon

My third and final Tuesday stop was the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.  I had a great albeit chilly initial visit to the refuge five years earlier to see the migrating Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese.  I was hoping for a comparable experience this time around.

I got three different things right upon my arrival -- warm temperatures, clear skies, and a huge flock of geese at the first pond on the Tour Loop Road.

I had the right ingredients for some great pictures.  All I needed to add to the mix was patience.  So I waited and kept an eye out for birds who were landing or diving in the hopes of special moments.

A small flock of Red-Winged Blackbirds would occasionally take wing as a group.  Not enough to probably call them a true murmuration, but still enough to be interesting.

An even smaller collection of Canada Geese all took wing at once.

Blackbirds again, but I like this shot because of the geese on the ground and the namesake trace of red in their wings they show at this angle.

Ross's Goose coming in for a landing.  I honestly don't know the difference between Ross's Geese and Snow Geese, but I'm confident that iNaturalist does and it says this is a Ross's Goose.  So, Ross's Goose.

The geese had done a full blast-off before I was at the actual pond.  I heard it first, then I watched them circle around for a while as I drove up.  And in the hour I spent there they never did it again, although there was a period when small groups would take flight in progressively closer and closer bunches.

The reason soon became clear -- a coyote just sauntering by, looking for all the world like it had no interest whatsoever in all the birds around.  The birds, for their part, were quite interested in the coyote.

After my hour with the geese I drove the loop looking for cranes, and eventually found them on the North Loop.  Not close enough for great shots, but enough for documentation.

All in all, a really terrific afternoon!