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by calvin1calvin on Mon Aug 22, 2022 10:02 am
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Planning a trip to Bosque in late November/early December and was curious as to the current conditions.  Have read about wildfires in the surrounding area, drought over the summer and recent rains.  Does anyone know if any of these has affected the refuge?  Are the farmers planting corn for the birds?  Haven't been since '16 and was planning for a quick trip this year.  Thanks 
 

by SantaFeJoe on Mon Aug 22, 2022 2:21 pm
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I haven’t been down there for about two months (June 30), but the crops were very sparse. No corn in sight and alfalfa was poor. Lot of fields were bare earth. Weeds were everywhere and water was scarce. Many areas that had burnt in recent years removed a lot of the cover and large trees, while  the deer, roadrunners, quail, etc. that used those areas were not there anymore. Turkeys, javelina, deer and elk were plentiful in some places. On the last trip down there, I only saw two ducks, few Canada Geese, coots, and other waterfowl. Most everywhere was dry except for the boardwalk pond. The Flight Deck Pond was overgrown with weeds and tall vegetation. It was rather depressing. The Rio Grande is mostly dry in central NM right now. The rains have helped some. For current info, you might want to contact Don Boyd. He is doing a year long daily photography project of the Bosque. You can also contact the refuge directly at (575)835-1828.

https://www.donboyd.com/collections/168474

Joe
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by calvin1calvin on Wed Sep 07, 2022 1:10 pm
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SantaFeJoe wrote:I haven’t been down there for about two months (June 30), but the crops were very sparse. No corn in sight and alfalfa was poor. Lot of fields were bare earth. Weeds were everywhere and water was scarce. Many areas that had burnt in recent years removed a lot of the cover and large trees, while  the deer, roadrunners, quail, etc. that used those areas were not there anymore. Turkeys, javelina, deer and elk were plentiful in some places. On the last trip down there, I only saw two ducks, few Canada Geese, coots, and other waterfowl. Most everywhere was dry except for the boardwalk pond. The Flight Deck Pond was overgrown with weeds and tall vegetation. It was rather depressing. The Rio Grande is mostly dry in central NM right now. The rains have helped some. For current info, you might want to contact Don Boyd. He is doing a year long daily photography project of the Bosque. You can also contact the refuge directly at (575)835-1828.

https://www.donboyd.com/collections/168474

Joe

Thanks for the information.  Think I will pass this year.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Wed Oct 26, 2022 1:10 pm
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Update on Bosque: I went down yesterday and things are looking a bit better, but far from optimal. One of the Crane Ponds had water in it, but few birds just yet. The Flight Deck Pond was just starting to get water and there were some Sandhill Cranes and ducks there, along with some shore birds. I saw one group of about 30 Killdeer, which is highly unusual. For the most part, the areas that are usually wet were dry, with the exception of the Boardwalk Pond and one of the ponds on the east side of the north loop. The farm fields have no crops planted, as far as I could tell. No corn at all. The farm fields are covered with dead stalks of native sunflowers, which was probably a beautiful sight in September when they were in bloom. I saw one small group of about six Wood Ducks. That is only the second time I have seen them at Bosque and only the first time I have seen them in an area open to the public. Someone on eBird Alert said that they saw about 13 Wood Ducks on the Boardwalk Pond yesterday, too. Not seen were the elk, javelina, quail, large number of turkeys (only saw two) and deer. There’s always something to see and photograph, but this doesn’t look like it will be a great year, by any means, at this point.

Joe
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by calvin1calvin on Wed Oct 26, 2022 1:33 pm
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Thanks for the update Joe. I think I will pass this year unless things get much better as the season progresses.
 

by bobsmith on Wed Dec 14, 2022 8:38 pm
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It’s interesting… I’ve seen a number of Facebook pics from this year showing numerous cranes, but the bird.com count shows 117 cranes. My question is where did they go? Farther south in a different refuge? Or more widely dispersed in the Socorro area?
 

by SantaFeJoe on Thu Dec 15, 2022 3:57 pm
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I'm at the Bernardo/Ladd Gordon Complex north of Socorro right now and there are lots of cranes here. Plenty of corn for them to eat.

Joe
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by bobsmith on Thu Dec 15, 2022 7:56 pm
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Good to know! Thank you…
 

by calvin1calvin on Thu Dec 15, 2022 9:38 pm
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Are there many birds at Bosque? Still have the urge to make a quick trip.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Thu Dec 15, 2022 11:05 pm
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calvin1calvin wrote:Are there many birds at Bosque?  Still have the urge to make a quick trip.
There are some birds, but not like normal. I saw a few large groups and a few scattered smaller groups of Sandhills today. Few ducks compared to normal. Not many Snow Geese. No turkeys, deer, elk, Javelina, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, roadrunners, etc. Also, there were few hawks compared to normal. There are always some things to photograph, but not the usual abundance. I did get some of the best shots of a Bufflehead I have ever gotten down there and saw the largest flock of Gambel’s Quail I have ever seen near the visitor center. The Crane Ponds and Flight Deck ponds  were pretty dead around sunset. To be fair, I really only spent a few hours in the late afternoon at Bosque, but I know it well enough to see the poor conditions clearly.  The tour loop that is sometimes open in winter in the far north portion of the north tour loop was not open today or on the last few trips I have made down there. The conditions at Ladd Gordon/Bernardo were excellent for flight shots of the Sandhills and the numbers were excellent. They are close to the tour route and there is a lot of corn, unlike the Bosque. There is a raised observation deck that is great for eye-level flight shots and the cranes were on the move all the time that I was there. If you want good flight shots of Sandhills, I would recommend the Ladd Gordon/Bernardo tour loop over Bosque. Not much else to say.

https://www.socorronm.org/attractions/ladd-s-gordon-waterfowl-complex-bernardo-waterfowl-area/

Photo #28 on this following page shows the elevated platform above the fields:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g47216-d13402638-Reviews-Ladd_S_Gordon_Waterfowl_Complex_Bernardo-Socorro_New_Mexico.html

Joe
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by calvin1calvin on Fri Dec 16, 2022 4:25 pm
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Thanks for the update. I have had good luck with the birds at Ladd Gordon in the past. I know there is still plenty of photo opportunities but considering the expense to fly, rent a car and hotel think I will go to South Texas, close to home, and see what I can find. Thanks again for the updates.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Sat Dec 31, 2022 10:41 pm
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Another update on Bosque: I’ve went down there again on Sunday and Tuesday. The Crane Ponds and Flight Deck are still dead. There are several cranes and geese in the field overlooked by Coyote Deck, but still not high numbers like most prior years. There are some ducks, but still not great numbers. Bernardo is excellent for Sandhills and Snow Geese, along with Mountain Bluebirds. The bluebirds are hovering near the road at close distances and I was able to get some great flight shots of them and some decent flight shots of a Kestrel. The geese did a couple of “blast-offs”, as some like to call them. There are several thousand Snow Geese and a lot of Sandhills that are currently hanging around the stretch of road near the headquarters. That is also where the bluebirds (around 20 or so) are hanging around. Still and flight shots of all of the above are pretty easy right now. I was down at Bernardo again yesterday and it’s still excellent. The difference between Bosque and Bernardo is the amount of corn in the fields. A lot of it was recently mowed down. The birds are well fed at Bernardo this year. The number of visitors is low and the tour route is short, but productive.

Joe
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by calvin1calvin on Sun Jan 01, 2023 12:30 pm
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Thanks for the update.
 

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