My final days are Bosque del Apache were pretty easy going. The numbers of Snow Geese seemed to be slightly increasing but not the Sandhill Cranes. I stopped getting up early for the sunrise and concentrated on trying to capture the near-full and full moon in the evenings with the cranes flying in.
Kingfishers are notoriously hard to capture so I was very happy to find this one hiding in the willows with a prawn.
The next evening I captured these cranes in the light of the setting sun they were flying in to the crane ponds.
This was such a great trip! I stayed at the Bosque Birdwatchers RV Park, about 5 miles from the Bosque del Apache Visitors center and 1 mile from the crane ponds (great for the sunrise fly-outs). It isn’t fancy but most sites have full hookups and the owner is a really nice guy. The saying in real estate is “location, location, location” and this RV park has it in spades. Most folks there were up and out for sunrise so there wasn’t much worry about disturbing your neighbor if you were at all considerate. Temps at sunrise were often in the mid 20s, at times with a strong wind. Being prepared for the cold weather is a must but the experience is well worth the slight discomfort. Getting up at 0500 for sunrise images then returning to the trailer by 8 am to warm up and have breakfast was a great way to start the days.
While at the rv park I met a nice guy with a Casita and we did some photography together. Met a couple with strong ties to near me in FL and we discussed cameras, gear and places to go in FL.
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© Jean Clark, 2019, email for Terms of Use
Stunning.
Thanks Judy, glad you enjoyed the series!
It’s been a great series. Know you had a blast. Wishing you safe travels back to warmer temps.
Thanks Jerry, it was a great way to spend some time!
Gorgeous shots with the moon….Im thinking of heading to the Everglades & Big cypress for a couple weeks sometimes before March …suggestions what to and not to expect?
Thank you, Sondra. Hmmm, Everglades, been there, done that 2 or 3 years ago in January. I was not impressed. But I did stay 2 nights at Midway campground in Big Cypress, nice and clean campground. It was a great place to work out of to see the area, Shark Alley for one and some of the back roads. As I was leaving there, maybe around Jan 10 or so (been too long to remember accurately) I did see some Spoonbills coming in and I suspect if I’d been there later in January or in Feb. there might have been more birds to see. It’s a place I’d like to get back to.