bosque del apache national wildlife refuge

World-famous for its sandhill crane viewing in late fall, early winter, the visitor center is also worth seeing. The interpretive displays encourage hands-on participation, while teaching us about the Rio Grande wetlands habitat.And then the drives are never disappointing. We've seen javalinas on both of our visits, which seems a special treat.

If the scenery alone doesn't inspire you, the amount of wildlife will, particularly if you travel here between Thanksging and New Years day. My husband and I come here every year and I am still blown away by the amount of wildlife we see. We walked within 4 feet of a Great Blue Heron and saw Sandhill cranes in abundance although not as many as we wanted to see as the migration had begun. The real show takes place an hour before dawn and at dusk with thousands of snow geese and Sandhill cranes flying in groups and landing in the Bosque ponds and lakes. I can't describe how incredibe the sights and sounds are of this experience as words fail to describe this amazing event. The hiking in the Spring and Fall is great too. There is really not a bad season for the Bosque, but the latter part of November through the end of December is the time to see the "bird show."

This is such a special place in the desert. Depending on the season you can see all types of birds nesting or traveling through. There is a famous crane festival in November. Plenty of opportunities to see wild animals native to the area. One of a kind.

Visited for a photographic workshop (4 days). While there weren't the thousands of birds that arrive at this location in the fall, there were more than enough for us to get some great photos! Would have been good if the restrooms were open earlier/later some days (they did stay open for us some of the time), but a minor inconvenience to an overall great event.

We love this refuge, even today when the Sandhills and snow geese were no where to be seen, lots of other fowl though. Looks like tamerisk is becoming a real problem but there was evident recent clearing.

Although our early spring visit was too late to observe many of the migrating birds, my wife and I enjoyed our visit to this refuge. The visitor's center had a number of creative educational exhibits including a sand tray with animal and bird track stamps to help the average person learn more about reading these signs. Kim Royle, manager of the visitor's center gift shop, was especially inviting and helpful.

I went during the crane festival. I intend to return often. Watching thousands of snow geese and hundreds of Sandhills cranes in Bosque Del Apache was a thrill. It is very cold in the early morning but sweater weather in the afternoon. (November). I typically spent most of the day in the refuge. Other visitors were friendly and helpful and the volunteers were very gracious.

My visit fulfilled all expectations. SO many Sandhill Cranes, Canadian Geese, ducks, raptors -- and all so close up. This is clearly one of the most interesting and best migratory bird refuges in the country. The visitor center is really helpful too. And has some great things for sale. Also saw an amazing turkey roosting in a tree late in the day. And fly-in of the Cranes is really something, alrighty.

Visited on the morning of Saturday 1/10/15. Left Albuquerque @ 430am, arrived 5:45 and waited for sunrise. Temp-25 degrees, no wind, gorgeous day. Quite a few others already there for the morning launch. Still enough room for us. Restrooms available @ launch sites. $3/car fee. Just as the sun broke over the mountains, the birds took off as advertised. It was a wonderful sight, pleasantly noisy too. We had never heard the WOOSH of so many birds taking off all at once. Very entertaining. Afterwards we drove around the entire refuge and saw 20 or so deer and 10 or so Javelinas (wild pigs). We stayed in our car, as the Javelinas didn't look too friendly. Stopped at the visitor center on the way out and were greeted by very nice and knowledgable staff. On the way home had brunch @ El Camino Lounge in Socorro. Great French Toast.

Great place to view wildlife, especially birds. Staff at the visitor center are very nice and helpful. Bring a camera and binoculars.

We caught this on a beautiful weekend. It had dried from the earlier snow and precipitation in the week. We had expected huge flocks of waterbirds, but instead they were making themselves scarce while the raptors took the day. We saw several Bald Eagles, one dining on a snow goose, and we think we saw an American Eagle as well, but we couldn't get a good enough view to be certain. From the head and a glimpse I got of his tail, I tend to think it was a large red tail hawk.The museum and gift store were very nice as well, the staff all friendly.There is an entry fee to the area, but they do accept Golden Eagle, Golden Access and Military Access cards for entry.I look forward to returning with a camera lens that will do the birds justice. My 200 mm lens just wasn't enough for the shots that could have been made that day.

The number of close up bird sightings was extraordinary. Bald eagles, golden eagles, great horned owls, red tailed hawks, snow geese sandpiper cranes etc. You must experience when the geese and cranes takeoff in the morning from their water locations. The web site shows this but to be there and experience a near simultaneous take off of thousands of birds i breathtaking and I am not a birder. The visitor center is a must visit as they have a unique gift shop and the people there are very friendly and informative. Great place for anyone or any family to go.

The Bosque del Apache is a treasure. Every New Mexican should come here. The surroundings are beautiful. There is a great Visitors Center where you can talk to the rangers and also watch birds feeding through a great window. There is a loop tour of the Bosque that you can do in your car. There are some places you should definitely get out and watch the birds. I was there for a photo seminar. I got to take a lot of pictures of birds. The best time is very early in the morning, be there and set up before sunrise and then just wait. The lift-off of the cranes and snow geese is remarkable. The surrounding area is gorgeous in the morning. The rising sun with all the beautiful colors can't be beat. I'm not a birder but we also saw many other varieties of birds, there were many bald eagles there as well as other raptors. We also saw a juvenile trumpeter swan, there was a tundra swan in the area also. If you come in winter dress in layers, it is very cold in the mornings and by afternoon you are warm. Even though I spent several days here I want to come back I didn't get to see nearly enough and I want to hike some of the trails.

Beautiful Oasis from the surrounding desert. Informative information center, friendly park attendants and staff. Abundant wildlife, exceptional access for viewing, bathrooms at convenient locations. well maintained refuge. Remarkable experience.

I'm not a bird watcher but I love taking photos. I got some great shots of landscapes reflecting off the water. I came to photograph the birds but honestly the places you are allowed to travel didn't really allow that. The park was really nice to drive through. We stopped at the visitor center and were not impressed with the people running it. They treated us like we were stupid because we didn't know much about birds. I recommend talking to the locals instead, they are much nicer. Other than that a nice way to spend an afternoon.