Bosque's Raptors...

As surely as songbirds are attracted when you put out a giant pile of seeds....

female Ruddy Duck, digiscoped at Bosque Del Apache NWR, Leica Televid and C-Lux camera

... large concentrations of cranes, geese, and waterfowl will surely attract large numbers of bird eaters as well. As a bonafied raptor junkie, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy searching through the multitude of hawks, eagles, and falcons present in and around Bosque Del Apache NWR and studying the varying plumages and behaviors presented by the many raptors here.

immature Red-tailed Hawk, Bosque Del Apache NWR 11/15/07

I was thrilled to be able to assist on one of the raptor walks on the afternoon of the 16th. We had a fantastic variety of plumages to study on this short field session. Northern Harriers were coursing low over the marshy areas everywhere. Red-tailed Hawks were very abundant, and we were able to compare light and dark morph "Western" Red-taileds, as well as 2 individual dark Harlan's Hawks. The second of these perched in a tree in front of the Marsh Deck for a while then dropped to the ground and finally circled up showing us the beautiful brown marbling on the mostly white tail.

adult Cooper's Hawk, digiscoped @ Bosque, Leica Televid scope

I saw accipiters daily. Most of these were large Cooper's Hawks, but small Sharp-shinneds terrorized the numerous White-crowned Sparrow as well.

adult Bald Eagles watched the geese intently

Eagles congregated at the edges of the geese flocks waiting patiently and watching intently. This adult Bald Eagle perched on a snag in front of the Marsh Deck as the sun set below the distant mountain range.

immature Prairie Falcon, digiscoped Leica Televid & C-Lux 2 camera 11/16/07

The highlight for me though was the numbers and variety of falcons present. The big immature female Prairie Falcon I photographed above was only one of the 5 species of falcon I saw on the refuge during this trip. Others included Peregrine Falcons, and at least 2 individual "prairie" race Merlins (richardsoni). These birds differ from the more typical dark race of Merlin seen across most of the country by showing longish tails with many alternating light and dark bands of equal width. American Kestrels were the most abundant falcon species though.

immature Aplomado Falcon, digiscoped at Bosque Del Apache NWR

The big surprise though were two individual Aplomado Falcons that were hunting the refuge daily. This rare raptor once inhabited both sides of the Rio Grande River, but were extirpated here in the US. Recent introduction programs in Texas and here in New Mexico allow us to once again see this attractive bird here in the states. It was fantastic watching this bird sally out and chase dragonflies. They are incredibly stunning to watch, with their extra long wings and tails. Just one of the MANY highlights from the trip!