Morro Strand State Beach 2022

 In early January we spent a few days at Morro Strand State Beach, one of our favorite campgrounds due to easy access to a great beach for walking and usually lots of birds.

Looking towards Morro Rock

The old PG&E smokestacks in the mist

Looking north up the coast

Marbled Godwits probing for food

Long-billed Curlew

A Willet taking off

Whimbrel

Shells on the beach, including lots of sand dollars (mostly broken)

Remains of a sand dollar left on a dune

We saw many of these pink sea cucumbers washed up on the beach.

The waves are always impressive.

The wind blown spray was catching sunlight just right for rainbow colors.

Low flying pelican

Sanderlings

Royal Terns

Bosque del Apache NWR 2021 - Part 3

The warm colors of Bosque del Apache in the late fall

Young Mule Deer buck

 

 

 

Javelina (aka Collared Peccary)

Great Blue Heron on a high perch

 

 

Red-tailed Hawk (dark morph)

 

Mixed company

 

We spotted this Raccoon cautiously trying to climb through a very small tree.

A couple of wild turkey toms trying to impress the hens

Javelina mom with a couple of little ones

"Snow Goose Jam"

"Coming through!"

Looking over the menu

Northern Harrier

Bosque del Apache sunset

Bosque del Apache NWR 2021 - Part 2

 Cranes returning in late afternoon light

People waiting for the birds returning to roost for the night

Nearly full moon

Pre-dawn glow to the east

Early arrivals waiting for a dawn launch of roosting birds

Our experience in the past was that the Geese would launch en masse near dawn and the Cranes would leisurely depart in small groups after the Geese had left.  But this morning, the Cranes started leaving in large groups well before the Geese started to leave and then the Geese started leaving in much smaller groups than expected. 

Bosque del Apache NWR 2021 - Part 1

 After visiting Bernardo WMA, we spent a few day south of Socorro to visit the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Typical scenes of Sandhill Cranes feeding in fields at Bosque del Apache

American Kestrel

Snow Geese resting

Panorama of Snow Geese in a partly flooded field

Panorama of Sandhill Cranes in another flooded field

Canada Geese

A few Snow Geese

Geese flying in front of the nearly full moon

Bernardo WMA 2021

 On our way back west, we spent a few days visiting some favorite wildlife refuges in central New Mexico.  First was a few nights north of Socorro, New Mexico, to visit the Bernardo Wildlife Management Area, part of New Mexico's Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex.

On previous visits we've usually found a fair number of Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese and various ducks and miscellaneous other wildlife.  On this visit we found many Sandhill Cranes and a few raptors, but not a single Snow Goose.

Juvenile Sandhill Cranes can be distinguished by the brown coloring on the top of the neck and head, and not having developed the red patch between their eyes.