• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

Bosque del Apache (BdA) 2017

Forums New posts
Thank you all for the kind words....

Something I found interesting about this trip was the fact that we shot a lot of birds, then by the last day we were already trying to get 'better' images of the birds we had shot the previous couple days. That means we were comfortable with what we were doing, how we were doing it, as well as beginning to understand patterns of flight and bird identification. I recall one exchange that went something like this on the South Loop...

Scott: Hey! Is that a Bufflehead?
Rusty: I can't tell, I need to see it from the side.
Scott: Stop the truck!
Rusty: Mmmm. OK.
Scott: It IS a Bufflehead. I need a better one of those.
Rusty: Mmmm. OK.

Rinse and Repeat for subsequent birds.....
 
WoodButcher said:
Didn't I invite you to join us? I knew you had vacation to kill. We could have used some sharp eyes along and some identification help.
Click to expand...

You had mentioned you may go spend time up at Big bend after Christmas and I was welcome to come along but that was as far as we got. :whatever:
I'll have to catch the next one.
 
Stunning pictures!

The area looks very arid. Does a natural spring feed the local lake or is it part of a larger network of rivers?

RB
 
FCBH said:
Stunning pictures!

The area looks very arid. Does a natural spring feed the local lake or is it part of a larger network of rivers?

RB
Click to expand...

Thx Fred....

That's a good question! I don't have an exact answer on the source of the water but I could make an educated guess it's diverted from the Rio Grande River running adjacent to the Refuge. The entire 57k acre refuge is literally next to it and sectioned out much like the rice fields of South Texas. There's a system of canals with high berms that run a maze of chutes and 'water gates' which keep various ponds full to empty. From what I gather, most ponds are very shallow, like 10-12" deep as the ducks are bottom feeders and turn upside down to stir up the muck and 'eat' it. In fact, we saw two Pintails swimming in a super-tight circle neck to neck just to enhance the stirring of said muck. It was pretty cool to watch that unfold. The water transfer canals are anywhere from 8-20' deep according to one staffer.
 
M38A1 said:
Thx Fred....

That's a good question! I don't have an exact answer on the source of the water but I could make an educated guess it's diverted from the Rio Grande River running adjacent to the Refuge. The entire 57k acre refuge is literally next to it and sectioned out much like the rice fields of South Texas. There's a system of canals with high berms that run a maze of chutes and 'water gates' which keep various ponds full to empty. From what I gather, most ponds are very shallow, like 10-12" deep as the ducks are bottom feeders and turn upside down to stir up the muck and 'eat' it. In fact, we saw two Pintails swimming in a super-tight circle neck to neck just to enhance the stirring of said muck. It was pretty cool to watch that unfold. The water transfer canals are anywhere from 8-20' deep according to one staffer.
Click to expand...
Good guess. Wells often supplement water from the canals.

The refuge is the most intensively managed in the country. The goal is to mimic the historic dynamic riparian ecosystem - periodic flooding and drying- of the Rio Grande basin. What was once a wetland habitat covering most of the central and southern RG basin is now a shrunken and concentrated artificial wintering habitat for dozens of bird and animal species. Demands for water, agricultural and urbanization, and development have significantly changed that ecosystem, the only riparian habitat in the northern reach of the Chihuahuan desert.
 
TexasShadow said:
Demands for water, agricultural and urbanization, and development have significantly changed that ecosystem,
Click to expand...

I would add the significant demand for water is used to facilitate the fracking activities in the area. Further east of BdA, the city of Roswell and Artesia fought like cats and dogs in court over the fair use of water. This legal struggle pitted the fracking E&P companies against the agricultural needs for water and residential or community use.

What birds remain in the preserve after the migration season has passed?

RB
 
Last edited:
FCBH said:
What birds remain in the preserve after the migration season has passed?

RB
Click to expand...
Few. A small population of CA geese and Mexican ducks, some raptors, and the typical year-round residents of the northern Chihuahuan desert (corvids, roadrunners, some passerine species).

Likewise, nearly all of the wetlands are in draw-down phase for management of weed and invasive species and growth of food sources for the next winter season.
 
TexasShadow said:
Few. A small population of CA geese and Mexican ducks, some raptors, and the typical year-round residents of the northern Chihuahuan desert (corvids, roadrunners, some passerine species).

Likewise, nearly all of the wetlands are in draw-down phase for management of weed and invasive species and growth of food sources for the next winter season.
Click to expand...

Thanks, excellent information indeed.

...now I need to borrow Rusty's Howitzer artillery size telephoto lens...

ducking.gif


RB
 
M38A1 said:
Overall I think the trip was a successful 'get-away'. I was able to get my eagle shot and lift-off shot so I was pleased. I learned a lot about the habitat of birds and other critters, got to watch nature in all it's glory unfold from dawn to dusk, observed the cruel side of mother nature (eat or be eaten), came away with some good images, spent some quality time with Rusty, learned some new techniques photographing, fell in love with a lens..........






......and when I got home bought another camera body. Doh!



This is just a small sample of what I shot. You can click HERE to see the full gallery (about 190 shots) with most images identified as to what the subject content is. I can't thank TexasShadow enough for assisting with the bird identifications. I learned a lot from our exchanges.

I'm not sure I'll become a bird photographer, but I have a small body of work that all I can do is upgrade the images as time and opportunity permit. I think my next adventure is off to the Jedi Transition to shoot military aircraft. But I'll need that 200-400mm f/4 (or more) to do that. :sun:

Hope you enjoyed a little slice of what I saw through my lens recently. I sure had fun. I'm sure Rusty will be along shortly with his body of work.


.
Click to expand...

Wow, just wow. Thanks for sharing!
 
Stay tuned!

Rusty, Kyle and I made the trip this year and will have some eye-candy up in a bit. :-)

ps: it snowed!
 
Well, I've managed to clean my office, move my 2018 photos to my external drive, archive them offsite and print some stuff for friends. I guess I can't ignore the 1500 or so pics I took at Bosque (way down from last year). I'll get started on them tonight.
 
I love taking pics. I am not so wild about the whole post processing thing ;-) I have a pretty good backlog at the moment.
 
I also moved my 2018 collections to an external drive ( two of them really ) but went through them for finale deletes. Ended up with about 1.575 K photos kept in 70 directories. Keyaw. Further trimming coming for sure. And as per camera usage, the G16 probably was used 80% of the time. Just so handy and does most of what I like to do.
 
Duke said:
You and I have a different definition of "in a bit"... :)
Click to expand...

I culled mine. Picked some for editing and edited them. I need to make another run through the culled images to grab some more for my final gallery. I'm close. But since I'm not getting paid for this, priority is lower. Hmm, now there's a thought. A go fund me account to pay me to edit my pictures faster. :rofl:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top