Birding in Bosque
Location: Socorro, New Mexico
Bosque del Apache – unless you’re a birder, you’ve probably never heard of it. I don’t remember how we became aware of this National Wildlife Refuge located an hour and a half south of Albuquerque. The best time of the year to visit is from early November to mid-February, so it seemed like a logical place to spend a long weekend for Thanksgiving.
The nearest town is Socorro, and we stayed at the top rated accommodation (the Holiday Inn Express). As it was Thanksgiving weekend, a lot of restaurants were closed so we wound up at Denny’s and the El Camino for a few meals. We were there for the photo ops though, so no big deal.
We had three full days in the area, and all followed this pattern:
- Wake up ridiculously early, hit the McDonald’s drive through for coffee, drive 20 minutes south to the reserve.
- Shoot the morning “fly out”.
- Drive around the reserve until the light got washed out.
- Get something to eat and then go back to the hotel for a nap.
- Drive back to the park for a few hours of shooting before sunset and the nightly “fly in”.
- Drive back to the hotel and go to sleep early.
If you are into wildlife photography, or birding, Bosque should definitely be on your list.
We’re Andy and Jennifer—two former corporate executives who chose long ago to prioritise experiences over stuff while pursuing our passions for travel and photography. From the Arctic to Antarctica, and most places in between, we’ve captured the world through our lenses and love sharing those stories. Our careers gave us the means, but our purpose is inspiring others to explore and helping people create images they’re proud of.
