Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge provides a 15-mile auto tour loop and several foot trails through several types of habitat.  Extensive wetlands have been created by diverting water from the Rio Grande.  Snow geese, Canadian geese, sandhill cranes, northern shovelers, pintails, and American coots were numerous during my visit.  I also spotted a bald eagle, a couple of cormorants, a couple of hawks, a running coyote, and a strutting pheasant.

But, the most fantastic part of a visit to the Bosque occurs if one is there just before sunrise when the air is filled with the honking of geese and the huge flocks lift off all at once from the marsh to return to their feeding grounds.

Bosque del Apache--U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Bosque del Apache--FWS brochure (pdf)

Trails and Treasures Home Page   Journey to the American Southwest 2003