Volunteering at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

San Antonio, NM (clear blue skies, 54 high, 24 low)

"There are some w ho can live without wild things

and some who cannot"

Aldo Leopold

Snow Geese at dawn over the refuge

Visitor Center

The call of the Sandhill Crane is unmistakable. We wake up each morning to their throaty cries and feel very blessed to call Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge our home for the next four month.

Picturesque cotton wood tree overlooking north and south ponds

Immature Bald Eagle

We have now started our seventh year on the road and are volunteering at this beautiful National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in New Mexico.  We have been here for about six weeks and are really enjoying this magical place. It is located about 80 miles south of Albuquerque near the small town of San Antonio. It's a very special place for bird watchers and photographers to see the Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, and a multitude of ducks who migrate here each fall and spend the winter.

Sandhill Cranes flying over the corn fields

Flight deck at dusk

Northern Pintail Duck

There are ten full hook up sites for the volunteers and we have arrived in a staggered fashion to be here to help out during the Festival of the Cranes. We also do a variety of tasks such as working at the the Visitor Center, fee booth, roving, and ground maintenance. There is a large lounge for watching movies and TV and a huge industrial style kitchen. We have enjoyed many potluck dinners and fellowship and really feel at home here.

Jeff the Biology Manager talking to us about the crops

Our orientation was very organized and extensive.  It was a treat to take  van rides all around the refuge and even into areas the public cannot access. Many staff members provided our orientation and seemed very happy that we have joined them this season. The feeling was quite mutual.

Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes chowing down on the corn

A Bald Eagle flew over and it caused the Snow Geese to fly around chaotically

Sandhill Crane family

Bosque del Apache is a huge refuge of over 57,000 acres established in 1939 by Franklin Roosevelt. At that time there where only 17 Sandhill Cranes left. The refuges main purpose is  to help recreate what the Rio Grande River performed before it was dammed and diverted. Each year crops are raised (corn and a variety of grasses) by refuge staff and cooperative farmers to feed the cranes, geese and ducks. It takes 1.5 million pounds of corn to feed the birds. Water is moved through irrigation ditches to simulate the flooding of the plains once done by the river. This helps bring the seeds to the top for the ducks and provides a safe haven for the Sandhill Cranes and geese to land in each night. Through the efforts of this refuge the Sandhill Crane population has increased to over 10,000.

Chris our Volunteer Coordinator describing a trail to us during orientation

Special computer controlled gates which regulate water

The refuge also works very hard to eliminate Salt Cedar, an invasive species. It's a labor intensive task to bulldoze, plow, disk, plow, collect, and then burn this tenacious and inhospitable  plants once introduced to New Mexico from Asia. It also gobbles up lots of precious water. They have worked very hard to come up with a plan which works very well.

Sandhill Cranes

Looking out over the Dabbler Deck

In addition, this refuge provides habitat for four endangered species (Mexican Jumping Mouse, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Silver Minnow, and Willow Flycatcher.).  It was explained to us all of their special fussy needs. It really is amazing how all that is accomplished here with a very small staff.

The Festival of the Cranes is held each year the week before Thanksgiving and it's a not to miss birding, wildlife, hiking, and photography event. There were over 150 events to choose from and it brings in about 3 million dollars to this county. We attended a few of the events (owl, photo, and crane workshops) plus provided support with keeping restrooms, buses, and conference rooms clean. You could also sign up to drive the vans for the special bird tours and many of us roved around the refuge answering visitor questions and setting up spotting scopes. I had fun walking around with a Sandhill Crane puppet for a couple of hours. We were all amazed at how well organized this event was. For each task we were assigned there were detailed instructions and supplies. All of the refuge staff helped out and several employees from other refuges came in to help too. We haven't heard the latest attendance figures but in past years about 8000 people attended. We had the best time!

Lucistic Sandhill Crane

Coyote checking out the possibilities for dinner

It's also a great location for touring some special place in New Mexico. Look for upcoming blogs about birding hot spots in Albuquerque, revisit to White Sands National Monument, visit with our friends Fran and Randy, and a interesting tour of the  Salinas Pueblo Missions. We will be here until the end of February. Why not come out and visit us.