Our final stop on our road trip last October (post HERE) was in Socorro, New Mexico where we spent several hours at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. We discovered national wildlife refuges after our visit to Aransas (Texas) in 2022. Ironically, we arrived in Aransas at the very start of the migration of the endangered whooping cranes. Sadly, we did not see any whooping cranes on our visit.
Our visit to Bosque del Apache was at the start of the migration of the sandhill cranes, and we were able to see a good number of them on our visit.
I also learned that Bosque del Apache had attempted to get the whooping cranes to also visit their refuge some years back. Unfortunately, that experiment did not work. I had heard about this after our visit to Aransas, so I was amazed that I got to visit this refuge and learn they were the ones who had worked with the whooping cranes. Aransas is the winter home of the only natural wild flock of endangered whooping cranes. You can see my post HERE.
Bosque del Apache is a beautiful refuge. The cottonwood trees along the Rio Grande where in all their splendor. We were told if we came back about Christmas time, we would see thousands of cranes. But what we saw was beautiful, even if most of the birds were far away. And we saw other animal friends as well, such as deer, coyote, javelina, pheasant, and of course the sandhill cranes!
Sandhill cranes:
Ring-necked Pheasant:
Snow geese:
There are more than 560 national wildlife refuges on 150 million acres of land. These refuges are easy to find, once you start looking. About 500 of them are open to the public and most charge no entry feel. I suggest you check any refuge you decide to visit to learn about accessibility, visitor’s center, restrooms and water access. Some are very isolated and have no facilities. You will see the Blue Goose icon on the boundary signs around most refuges. More than 47 million people annually visit national wildlife refuges. I purchased a blue goose passport, a book that lists all of the refuges with space to get a stamp when visiting or note information on your visit. Now I can easily find a reserve if one is nearby our next vacation location.
peace of life today 
Beautiful images Lisa and what a magical place to visit! Your captures of the sandhill cranes are especially gorgeous 🧡 xxx
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Thank you so much! Everything seemed so far away and I didn’t have a super zoom, so I just snapped away to see what I could get! 🤣
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Stunning images, Lisa! There are several wildlife refuges here in Deep South Texas. Thank you for the tip about the passport book to get stamped or make notes in. I’ll look for one the next time we visit a refuge.
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Thank you, Terry! We are thinking about visiting Surfside Texas in the fall, and I found one not far away! I think Texas has quite a few of them. I even found one near my sister-in-law whom we also plan to visit (in Texas).
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You captured such stunning moments! Nature is so fascinating. 😍
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Yes, it is Shelley! Thank you! 😊
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Your photos and information do a good job of making us wish we could see this refuge for ourselves. It’s so amazing to see the varieties of wild birds you’ve shown. I love the bright colors of some of them, too.
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There were a lot of birds, and animals there!!
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Nice pictures of the snow geese and the cranes, Lisa!
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Thank you! It was a beautiful place, it would have been beautiful at sunrise and sunset!!
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What a beautiful place to enjoy these special birds! Thank you for sharing with us.
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Thank you, Amy! It was very beautiful!!
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Thank you, Amy!
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A beautiful collection, Lisa!
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Thank you, Mitch!
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Stunning pictures. Really make me want to go there. I was obsessed with anything Apache as a child, so this really takes me down memory lane. Thank you!
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Thank you, Juliette! It was beautiful and very worth the time. Happy you enjoyed the photos!
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Stunning! Sharing my journey: https://thedumalady.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/mysterious-myanmar-part-3-of-3-spill-the-tea/
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Thank you!
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