[You may view a map of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Tour Loop as a GIF image. Note that "North" on the map is to the left.]

We got up earlier than usual so we could get ready to go to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. I had a bowl of Post Raisin Bran and made a mug of Nescafé Clásico instant coffee to go. It was just starting to get light, and it was about 27°F (-3°C) when we left in the Jeep at 6:32.

The Nescafé Clásico instant coffee is better than the nasty Folgers that I had tried previously, but it's still not very good — too bitter!

We reached the lower crane pool in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge around 6:50. (It's indicated on the Tour Loop map as the pull-offs 3 miles north.) We set up to photograph the sandhill cranes and snow geese in the pond, and there was some nice color starting to form on the clouds to the east (behind us when looking at the pool). After the color formed on the clouds to the west, I swapped the 1D Mk III and 500 for the 1Ds Mk III and 24-105 to photograph the landscape (below left). When the color started to fade, I switched back to the 1D Mk III. Soon, the golden light started to illuminate the sandhill cranes as they flew by while climbing after taking off (below right). We were treated to a nice "blast-off" where the flock of snow geese lifted off en mass and flew right over us. We left the lower crane pool when a thicker band of clouds started blocking the nice light.

We went through the fee booth and onto the Auto Loop, specifically the Marsh Loop. We photographed some northern pintails and saw lots of mallards, some northern harriers, and some unidentified hawks. We photographed a fairly cooperative roadrunner near the Eagle Scout Deck (deck 2 on the Tour Loop map).

Then we took the Farm Loop and saw more northern harriers. We stopped beyond the Farm Deck (deck 6 on the Tour Loop map) to photograph a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds. They would land in the field and presumably feed for a while, then take off in a swarm and fly a short distance and feed some more. It was fun to photograph the dark swarm of birds. Occasionally, the flock would land in the low bushes near the road, so it was also possible to photograph individual birds and small groups as they were perched. We also watched a group of five coyotes hunting in the same field. We exited the Tour Loop and stopped to photograph a very cooperative roadrunner right along NM-1 (left).
We returned to the RV around 10:45. I downloaded the images I took and finished a blog entry. I did two quick downselects of the images from the morning using iView.

Had lunch around 12:20 and performed a downselect in Capture One (C1). J took a nap and I performed a second downselect in Capture One (C1) and selected potential images for the blog. Then I did some computer work. J woke up, and we left around 4:00.

We returned to the lower crane pool in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge around 4:25. The clouds, which looked like they might be perfect for lots of color, only lit up in small patches, so shooting opportunities were limited. However, after lots of patience, one sandhill crane glided through a big enough patch of color so I could capture the nice silhouette to the left. We left at 5:10 after the color petered out.
We went to the Valero gas station in Socorro to fill up the Jeep at $2.619/gal, and I also cleaned the windows. Boy, was it nice to be able to see through them. :)

We went to Frank & Lupe's El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant in Socorro for dinner. It's one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, and the food was good as always. I had Chicken Molé Enchiladas and J had a Chicken Enchilada and a Chili Relleno.

We returned to the RV around 6:55. I downloaded the images form this afternoon, then performed a downselect in iView followed by Capture One (C1). I processed four images for the blog.

My mother called around 8:35 to let us know that my Uncle J (her brother) probably has a tumor in his Meckel's Cave, a part of the brain. That would explain why he has been having problems with the nerves on one side of his face. In fact, when we saw him in April 2009, J suspected that he had trigeminal neuralgia. (The trigeminal ganglion occupies Meckel's Cave, and the trigeminal nerve is responsible for sensation in the face.) It's likely that my Uncle J will have endoscopic surgery through the nasal passage to remove the tumor. We'll know more later this week.