Festivals of Cranes

Just a few days after my week in New York, I visited the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of Albuquerque in New Mexico. The refuge was established in 1975 for migratory birds coming from the Northern part of America and Canada. Now it is a place where about 12,000 sandhill cranes, 70,000 snow geese, over 40,000 ducks, and over 300 other varieties of bird spend their winter days. Witnessing the wildlife was pure magic.

In early morning, the air is filled by the screeching sounds of cranes and geese before their take off to the feeding fields nearby. Like a huge wave with a thundering sound, the snow geese leave the safe water all at once. The sandhill cranes follow, taking off in small groups. Witnessing the change from night to day is spectacular. I tried to capture the atmosphere, but did not succeed to portray the full beauty.

The snow geese are the first to leave their nightly resting place. Like a huge wave with a thundering sound, they leave the safe water all at once.

Sandhill cranes follow them. They leave in small groups.

During the migration season in the fall, many fields are flooded with water in order to imitate the original marshland.

Two adult sandhill cranes performing a dance.

Watching and making photos of the birds requires being totally in the moment. Maybe this is one of the reasons so many bird lovers are visiting the Refuge with their big cameras.

During the day, the sandhill cranes feed in fields surrounded by golden cotton wood trees. Other wildlife can be observed too – like herons, coyotes, deer and javalenas.

Seeing the elegance of cranes flying in the sky makes it understandable that the crane is a symbol of freedom and peace in Asia. Their ability to fly high in the sky, walk in shallow water and stand on earth makes them a very special bird. Fossils of cranes dating back millions of years make them even more special. Maybe, this is the reason that they also symbolize longlivity in Japan.

This heron was undisturbed by my presence.

Sunsets are as spectacular as the dawn. Down below you see the pink sky reflected in the water.

In the evening, we saw a group of roaming javelinas.  They chased up a turkey hiding in the grass behind.

At the time when we were listening to the voice of the birds, 27 satellites in the Very Large Array listened to radio waves coming from outer space. The VLA is the  world’s most powerful radio telescope for use by scientist all over the world. The VLA is able to capture radio waves travelling for billion of years across the vastness of space. The views from each of the 27 active antennas are connected to a supercomputer which merges the views into a single, most powerful telescope.

Each dish measures 82 feet across, is made out of aluminum panels and weighs 100 tons. They are moved by motorised drives  on railroad tracks covering 82 miles

Seven of 27 satellite dishes

The satellites are supersensitive. It is not allowed to use a cellphone or any other electronic devices near them.

We also visited Window Rock, the capital of the Navaho Nation.  The town and its surroundings are a pure treasure and undiscovered by tourists. Hopefully, it can preserve its beauty in the future.

Window Rock, a sacred area.

I am not sure if this area is open for hiking – the land belongs to the Navajo people. I took the photos while driving through this gorgeous landscape. It was an about 800km drive back to Phoenix, Arizona. We drove it in one day.