My breath vaporizes in the air in front of my face. My toes are numb from the cold. Yet I must stand still and ready. In the dark, I begin to hear aviary sounds. As the night fades to light and the beginning hints of orange and blue emerge, my eyes strain to see the bodies that go with these sounds. Hundreds of birds sit on the ice, their legs heavy with slivers of ice stuck to them. The chatter strengthens, the sound almost becomes deafening when suddenly, all at once a mass of white and black wings flutter, and all of the snow geese take off at once; every last one of them! 

Left in the cold are the larger sandhill cranes. They linger and stagger their takeoffs. One leans its long neck forward as if sniffing the air for a clear takeoff. It then leans its body more and more forward and suddenly the ice falls from the feet as the large body elegantly takes off and is airborne. Next, a pair of them look after their friend who has vacated the spot in line. They look at each other, then repeat the stretching of the neck and leaning their body forward, seeming to suspend themselves into a pre-fall, but they also elegantly take off. Suddenly I am no longer aware of the cold, biting through my gloves and boots. I am mesmerized, though I have journeyed here for dozens of winters, watching this same phenomenon every year, never tiring of the event I am privileged to witness. 

Having lived in Chicago before moving to Albuquerque, I was used to watching the sandhill crane migration from a location in Indiana. Binoculars were a must as the birds were far from the observers. I was unprepared for the amazing sight unfolding before me at Bosque del Apache! The birds were very close to me, the observer. I could hear them and feel the wind beneath their wings as they took off and flew over my head. 

Bosque del Apache (BDA) lays south of Socorro, New Mexico. It is a national wildlife preserve, administered by the US Fish and Wildlife service. It spans over 57,000 acres and was established in 1939. It has gained international attention as a hot spot for wintering migrating sandhill cranes, snow geese, and Ross's geese. From November to early March photographers and birders line its auto loops to view the spectacle of prehistoric-looking birds.  Yet BDA is so much more than this. It boasts over 383 species of birds. Waterfowl, birds of prey, shorebirds, songbirds speckle the acreage.  The landscape has grasslands, wetlands, desert and mountain foothills.

Each trip through Bosque del Apache holds new wonders and adventures.

Some days are full of sightings, other days it is the simple beauty of the land that calls to my soul. Though the birds demand the spotlight, coyotes, javelina, deer, elk, rattlesnakes, bobcats, and turkey call this land home.  From snags in the flooded fields sit eagles in watch. On one occasion, while my friends were photographing cranes, I turned my head to see a badger crossing the road!  This was only my second badger sighting in my life and quite the thrill to me!

At night, the stars cast reflections over the wetland and mimic the vastness of the grassland. Owls eerily call into the vastness.

It is ordinary and extraordinary all at once!