Birds from the Beyond: Bosque del Apache

This morning in the eastern pre-dawn glow I watched the Sand hill Cranes drift out of the pale blue, curved bow shaped gray wings and long extended feet touching bare ground. I felt privileged once again to witness this most gracious of descents. Their haunting cries strike a note like no other, leaving wonder in their wake…
 
To begin this day with roses in the sky, the appearance of these birds, followed by a luminous sunrise was a gift that transported me back to the Bosque del Apache where I witnessed these birds as individuals and as huge flocks soaring over my head by the hundreds, their long graceful necks and heads, full bodies and great gray outstretched wings responding to some collective cue that determined their immediate direction.
 
What struck me forcibly was how these birds interact intimately, as individuals and as a group. My first moments at the Bosque were spent at one of the ponds where I was able to listen to individuals calling out to each other from at least four directions while being answered by those on the water, long before small groups appeared on the horizon to join the twelve in front of me. Their individual conversation is as astonishingly musical, and so constant that I am left marveling over what these exchanges might mean…
 
Collectively, these ancient (possibly 100 million year old) birds do not exhibit any particular flight pattern as they fly in pairs or groups from one feeding place to another on the sedge covered, cattail tipped, rust colored marshes, but then most will winter here until spring migration calls them home to the North…
 
The Snow geese were another matter entirely. Whenever they took flight they did so en masse and to see hundreds – even thousands of these birds circling in the air a number of times before deciding upon a direction – pure white feathers against an azure sky – was bewildering, almost beyond comprehension.
 
The “bird woman” in me has never had an experience that could compare with visiting this Refuge. I spent the entire time in a state of mind-body awe. The location is astonishing – great brown reptilian dragons stretched across the plains – a cobalt dome arced overhead - apparently endless marshlands mirrored deep sky. Add to this three hundred species of birds some of which were hiding in the reeds like the black crowned heron, bittern, killdeer, or the numerous species of ducks - pintails, shovelers, mallards, - that were bobbing up and down in the water. Some crowded together in the trees like the quail and white winged doves. Raptors like the Northern Harrier and Cooper’s hawk soared. A bald headed eagle flew across the marsh forcing an entire flock of geese into the air. Redwings fed at feeders placed outdoors at the visitor center. Mule Deer paused to gaze as they crossed the road… Coming here highlights the perception that bird/animal watching is one of the great miracles of life.
 
Before the trip I asked myself what was most important to me about this upcoming adventure into bird - land. I could answer this question with ease: Being fully present for the experience. Armed with the knowledge that my good camera and binoculars would interfere, I wisely left both behind. I took my IPhone to snap a few quick pictures.
 
In retrospect I am even more grateful than I could have imagined about making this choice because I carry the sight and sounds of this ‘Vision of the Bosque Birds’ in my body and mind on a level that allows me to return without effort to the Refuge, a place where time ceases to exist.
 
This morning the appearance of the Sand hill cranes was the trigger, but I note that almost any natural occurrence acts as a pathway to the all the birds at the Bosque - the willows that have turned deep rose with the first frost, the first bird song of the day, or the daily appearance of my beautiful suet loving flickers are a few examples.
 
In a very real sense some part of me found a home at the Bosque del Apache, and remains there with my avian friends; a woman with wings who takes to the air as a new dawn draws near…

---