Fly Ways

Late last winter we drove to Socorro and through the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Sanctuary for some of the best bird watching in the southwest.  Bosque Del Apache which means “woods of the Apache” lies in the flood plain of the Rio Grande River in central New Mexico.  The bosque is home to more than 500 species of birds most notably the Sand Hill Crane, Blue Heron, Snow Goose and the rare Least Bittern.  The Least Bittern, I’m sure you know, is one of the smallest Herons.  Quiz to follow.

I’m no birder but I am impressed by the sight of a bizillion Snow Geese wintering in balmy New Mexico.  Balmy at least compared the Arctic tundra where they hatched and first took flight.  They spend half the year migrating to and from the frozen north and as far south as Mexico.  Calories provided by some of America’s richest farms and fields along the route.