Bosque del Apache, High Desert Oasis

BirdNote^®  

Bosque del Apache, High Desert Oasis

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

[A few Sandhill Cranes calling]

At this time of year Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in south-central New Mexico is a birder's paradise. Many rise early to witness the magnificent spectacle of the sunrise "fly out" of some 14,000 Sandhill Cranes [Sandhill Cranes calling]. And more than 30,000 Ross's Geese and Snow Geese [Snow Geese calling]!

The sunset "fly in" is equally impressive. [Individual Sandhill Cranes and a huge flock of Snow Geese calling] 

Bosque del Apache translates from Spanish as "the woods of the Apache."  The refuge sits where the north edge of the Chihuahuan desert — called "high desert" here because it's above 4,000' — meets the Rio Grande River. The heart of the refuge now supports 20 square miles of moist bottomlands — including wetlands and riverside forest — critical wintering habitat for great numbers of birds. [Individual Sandhill Cranes calling]   

The cranes here return each November from nesting grounds in the northern Rockies and Dakotas, just in time for the annual Festival of the Cranes. Over six days the refuge offers field trips, lectures, workshops, and hikes as a way of celebrating this remarkable oasis in New Mexico's high desert. [Large flock of Sandhill Cranes plus individual Snow Geese calling at the end]

There are more than 500 national wildlife refuges for you to visit and enjoy. To learn which one is nearest you, begin at birdnote.org.

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Bird audio provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recording of 12,000 Sandhill Cranes calling [2761] by A.A. Allen; calls of individual Sandhill Cranes [120249] recorded by G.A. Keller; calls of large flock of Snow Geese [6120] W.W.H.Gunn; calls of individual Snow Goose [3500] by M.P.McChesney.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2012 Tune In to Nature.org  November 2012/2018/2020  Narrator: Mary McCann

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