Volunteering at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

San Antonio, NM (52 degrees high, 19 degrees low, clear blue skies)

We have returned again to volunteer for Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. This is our second time here and it felt like home when we arrived in late October. It's a beautiful refuge in New Mexico where Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, Hawks, Eagles, songbirds, and lots of ducks migrate here to spend the winter. 

Sandhill Cranes

The refuge recreates what the Rio Grande used to do and an elaborate system of water canals and dikes flood areas for the birds to enjoy. The refuge planted lots of corn and grains for the birds and will harvest over 1.1 million pounds of grain to feed them. The Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese will now remain with their young until late January. 

Wild Rio Grande Turkeys

Mule Deer

We work three eight hour shifts in exchange for our site with full hook ups and WiFi. There is a very comfortable volunteer lounge with TV, game tables, reclining chairs, library, and a huge kitchen with industrial style stove and ovens. We have lots of potlucks and game nights with board and card games. We will be here until the end of February and folks arrive here in a staggered fashion with the majority of volunteers here now for the busy season. 

John's responsibility will be working in the fee booth and roving (driving around the refuge monitoring and talking to visitors). I'll be working in the Visitor Center and roving. 

Sandhill Crane Choir

When we first arrived there were only a few Sandhill Cranes and no Snow Geese and very few ducks. Each day more and more have arrived. In a couple of weeks the Sandhill Cranes will increase to 12,000, Snow Geese 30,000 and duck of all kinds to over 80,000. It's an amazing place.

All the staff and volunteers have been very busy getting ready for a fun event called the Festival of the Cranes. Visitors come from far and wide to participate. This event (31st) brings in lots of money for the local economy and there are presenters offering over 140 programs in photography, birding, and lots of field trips to local attractions such as the Very Large Array for the night sky, Owl expeditions and so much more. To see this years catalog click here. 

We have all helped with landscaping, cleaning, and an extensive orientation was presented by the staff to help us be ready. The festival started on Wednesday and its been so much fun. John has driven a van for some of the presenters, roved the refuge talking to visitors and monitoring areas. I've worked in the Visitor Center and Bull Pen (central area for communication), cleaned conference rooms and bathrooms and even walked around with a Sandhill Crane puppet.  All hands on deck are necessary. The refuge and Friends staff work very hard organizing and helping out.  

Early morning before the Fly Out

Snow Geese

The highlight for most visitors during the festival is the Fly Out and Fly In. The Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese roost at night in several wetlands each night. You can sign up for an early morning Fly Out and be taken by school bus to one of these areas just before dawn. Then as you stand there the Cranes start to wake up and soon a huge chorus of thousands of them start calling.  Aldo Leopold describes the sounds of the Sandhill Cranes as "tinkling of little bells, the baying of some sweet-throated hound, and a pandemonium of trumpets, rattles, croaks, and cries". Then slowly in groups of three the cranes start to leave the wetland area and head out to the farm fields just as the sun rises. What's really thrilling is when the Snow Geese lift from the field. Oftentimes, they will fly out in one huge flock and swirl around the wetland area for several minutes. It almost looks like a shaken snow globe. The sound of them lifting is really loud and it's so thrilling. 

Snow Geese at Fly Out

We signed up and paid for two classes. John attended a Raptor ID class. It lasted for five hours and the presenter, Gail Garber with Hawks Aloft, had the van driver explore areas of the refuge helping the attendees find and learn how to identify them. Later in the day she also brought in five rescued hawks for an up close look at them. I attended a Point and Shoot camera class and it was great and easy to follow. Our instructor, Stephen Ingram, initially took us out to the fly out and talked about how to use our cameras for morning light, landscape photos, and close ups photos of birds. He told me about features of my camera I was unaware of. Our presenter has written a book if you are interested in learning more. Click here for the details.

The Fly In can be equally impressive. The Cranes and Snow Geese return from the fields and land in the wetlands or fields for the night. You can hear the Snow Geese coming from the distance in big flocks. Our visitors and all of us really enjoy witnessing this event. It's magical. This will happen each day now until about late January. If you are in the area please stop by to see us. We will love showing you our "backyard". 

Our Travels Since Arriving in the U.S.

San Antonio, NM (62 degrees, clear blue skies)

After crossing the border from Canada into the U.S. we stopped along the way to see Great Falls and Custer's last stand in Montana. Both stops were very interesting. The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center features a  stopover of the Discovery Expedition at a huge waterfall.  There were very interesting displays and movie about the expedition and what happened here.

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

Little Bighorn Native American Memorial 

Grave markers for each soldier

Custer's last stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn is also definitely worth the stop. We spent a few days exploring the area and found the National Monument gave a very balanced view of the cavalry and the Sioux and Cheyenne. Custer and 262 other soldiers lost their lives in this ill conceived battle. It's very sobering to see the graves where each of the soldiers died. A tombstone marks where each soldier died across a now peaceful battlefield. I won't go into all the history of this battle but encourage you to stop and experience it for yourself. 

We then spent a few days  in Colorado Springs tat the beautiful Air Force Academy military campground o do some much needed shopping and a few repairs. Our motorhome had been having a difficult time ascending hills and it was steadily getting worse. We had to pull over frequently to cool the engine down which can be a scary thing on major highways. It wasn't possible to have it diagnosed in Alaska but our campground gave us a great reference to a diesel shop. They found out there were huge amounts of dust, debris, and mud packed in the very tight spaces of the radiator and transmission cooler. They said it was a common problem and gave us a couple of options. The best one was to drop the radiator and clean it thoroughly. It took the mechanic most of the day and he said it was by far the best option. The good news is our motorhome run like a champ.  Maybe we will even get a little bit better gas mileage. They did recommend spraying water with a high pressure monthly into this area to keep it clear. Maybe you should do this too!

The weather suddenly turned very cold and we got a welcome phone call from our friends in Albuquerque. How would we like to come visit them and be able to go to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Dub and Rae live in a 55 plus community which has two RV spots available for guests. Well, we didn't have to think about this offer very long and headed quickly in their direction. We were planning on going to Albuquerque but not until the Fiesta was over.

It was great to see Dub and Rae and we had fun sharing stories of Alaska and Canada. They had gone there long ago when it was even more of an adventure. We shared lots of laughs and some great food. We also were able to arrange a dinner together with two couples we had traveled with this summer. It was great fun.

We went to two mass ascensions able to at the Balloon Fiesta  and what a joy it was to see all the beautiful hot air balloons. This is our fourth time attending and we just couldn't resist taking way too many photos. Here are just a few.

After the Fiesta we returned for a second time to volunteer at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. This beautiful refuge is located about 80 miles south of Albuquerque. It 's home in the fall and winter to thousands of Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, song birds, and lots and lots of ducks. There are great wildlife opportunities as well. Occasionally you might spot an elk, bobcat, or if you are very lucky a mountain lion. When we arrived it really felt like we had come home. We saw some of our friends and seeing the refuge in all it's fall colors is just spectacular. 

The Sandhill Cranes will eventually reach over 12, 000 and more and more are arriving each day. Our orientation started on October 22nd and even though we have participated with this in the past we learned so much. What is really exciting is there is an excellent corn crop this year. This refuge recreates what the Rio Grande River used to do and has grown over 1.1 million pounds of grain to feed their hungry visitors. They also flood fields in a very orchestrated and technical way for the wildlife to enjoy.

Wild Turkey

Snow Geese

Sandhill Cranes at dawn

We will be here until the end of February. If you are in the area, please stop by. We'd love to show you our beautiful "back yard"!

Our Volunteer Experience at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

San Antonio, NM (weather is improving high 70 low 40 degrees, blue skies)

Bosque del Apache Visitor Center

We have spent the past four months at a beautiful Fish and Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico called Bosque del Apache. It's a gem and a birders paradise. Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese spend the winter here plus lots of duck, eagles, hawks, and other birds. We got here just before the Festival of the Cranes which draws in lots of birders, photographers, and nature lovers. So what has it been like to volunteer here?  This post will give you a glimpse into our experience.

John and I at the Visitor Center desk

We volunteer three days a week in exchange for our campsite. My responsibilities have included working at the visitor center and roving out on the refuge. This refuge has about 200,000 visitors annually and most come during the time we have been here. 

Bird feeders are visited frequently by our feathered friends.

Part of my responsibility include greeting visitors and talking to them about the refuge and where they may be able to see the "fly in and/or fly out".  This emotional and exhilarating experience occurs around sunset and sunrise each day when the cranes and geese leave the ponds and return each evening. It's an amazing wildlife moment. The geese actually lift off or return in huge flocks all at one time. Thousands of them often times swirl around you in a snow globe fashion.

Snow Geese coming in for the night to roost on the pond

Part of the visitor center responsibilities include opening and closing the center. There is some small housekeeping tasks and money is balanced for the passes and entry fees sold. Bird feeders need to be filled often and weather information is recorded along with how many visitors came into the center. The American Flag is raised and lowered each day and some of the displays need to be turned on or off. We all help with these tasks and there is a very detailed check list which explains how to do everything. We have been very impressed with how well everything is thought out and explained. A ranger is always available if you need assistance with a visitors question.  We also go to the Post Office to pick up mail and packages. Our orientation at the beginning was very well done and the best we have received.

There is a nice Nature Store in the center. We do not work in this area but sure like shopping here. We get a small discount off of merchandise and a gift certificate to use at the end of obligation. Nice!

Danielle demonstrates one her favorite puppets. 

Roving involves taking out one of the federal vehicles and driving around the auto loops.  We talk to visitors and monitor  restricted areas to be sure they are not entered. If there are violations we contact refuge staff. We also set up spotting scopes for the visitors to see the birds up close. Many of the visitor have phenomenal camera equipment and have been here numerous times.  We also stop at the bathrooms to be sure they are well stocked and clean. In addition, we refill trail maps at the trail head. Roving also helps us be able to know where and what birds are being seen so this information can be conveyed at the visitor center.

Sandhill Canes

John has volunteered at the fee booth. He collects entry fees or checks passes and also distributes maps of the auto loop. He also roves each day. We are in good communication with the visitor center when we are roving so the most up to date information can be given out to visitors. 

Our site

Volunteer Loung

Our site is a 50 amp full hook up site. It's gravel and the sites are well spaced. There are 16 sites here. A great benefit is the volunteer lounge with a big TV and comfy couches. There is also a huge kitchen we have all utilized. Laundry facilities and a shower are available if needed. Lots of pot lucks have been organized and oftentimes we meet to play board or card games. This lounge really helps volunteers interact and we have had some fun times together and made some really great friends. Now that's definitely a great perk. 

Lending library

Kitchen and eating area

One of many potlucks

The weather can be quite chilly especially in December and January. We added heater tape to our water hose and oftentimes need to use our propane to heat. We also bought an oscillating electric heater to supplement. Average temperatures during this time can be in the low 20's and high 40's. We wore a warm coat, mittens, hat, and long underwear most of the time. The refuge does replenish your propane which is very nice. There is WYFI but very poor. I needed to use my own Verizon hotspot most of the time. Verizon phone signal is great. 

The closest grocery store is about 20 minutes away in Socorro. There are some nice restaurants here too. Post office is only 8 miles away in San Antonio with limited hours and friendly staff. There is also a Walmart in Socorro and a good auto service shop. There is no movie theatre .  The closest one is in Albuquerque about 80 miles away. We do go there often to shop for groceries at the military base and all the conveniences such as  Costco/Sams Club, and Traders Joe for three buck Chuck!  

Refrigerator for use by volunteers 

Laundry

New Mexico is a beautiful state and the refuge being centrally located has enabled us to make lots of fun day and weekend trips.  For the first time we have stayed in B&B's and inns rather than moving the motorhome. We traveled often with Bob and Amy a volunteer couple here at the refuge. We have had some great time together exploring, hiking, and have shared lots and lots of laughs.  

Our recent visit to Santa Fe and Tent Rock National Monument was beautiful. Snow fell while we were there  and it was so pretty. 

Amy and Bob and Tent Rocks

Tent Rock National Monument overlook

John and Bob at Lorenzo Caverns

Audobon Nature Center Santa Fe with Bob and Amy

We have met many interesting visitors and have made some lasting friendships here. It's been an awesome experience and although we are ready to be on the road again it's difficult to leave. This is a special place.  If you are interested in volunteering here be sure to watch for their opportunities on www.volunteer.gov website.  They use volunteers year round and we'd highly recommend this refuge. We'd like to thank all the staff for making this such a great experience. We will miss the call of the Sandhill Crane and will certainly be back again soon.