Festival of the Cranes – part 3

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We made our way to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center after the fly out. It was still a very cold day. We looked around in the visitor center and bought sweatshirts – giving ourselves another layer for later in the week – and then watched the red wing blackbirds near the feeder in the Desert Arboretum nearby.

There were still a few cottonwood leaves that had not turned brown.

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The saltbush was thick with seeds.

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We decided to take a turn around the wildlife loop. We saw quite a few Northern Shovellers

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And coots.

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My favorite water birds of the day were the pintails.

There were crystals still prevalent on vegetation; it was colder than it looked.

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The day was sunny – the sky clear blue – typical New Mexico in winter.

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Startled snow geese filled the air periodically. I took some sequences later in the week…so more to come about them in subsequent posts.

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