Birds and a Bonus Mishap

Hello, Internet! I’ve been taking a break to sort out some personal business, so let’s jump back in with both feet, shall we? I’ll try to make up for lost time by posting a whole pile of photos I made at one of the sweetest spots in New Mexico: the Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge.

Sam and I were there back in December, when I did a takeover for the Travel New Mexico Instagram account, and if you’re traveling through, make sure you visit the refuge.

It’s near the town of Socorro, a fine little town, although the night I was there for dinner my waiter, a transplant, said he wanted to move to San Francisco or New York, complaining that he couldn’t even get blood oranges in Socorro. It seemed a bit extreme to move to a huge city just for produce, but what do I know.

Onto the photos:

I started out on this trail, excited to get to the end to see the famous birds en masse I’d heard so much about. Apparently they ascend in the morning and fly in in the evening, and I thought I had timed it right to see the evening fly-in.

This landscape reminded me of the African Savannah.

There’s water everywhere at the refuge, hence all the wildlife.

Okay, one more of that bench spot. The light and line were just right.

I was getting closer, readying my camera for what was sure to be a beautiful capture of all the birds settling in.

This is at the end of the trail, but I’m not sure four birds count as “en masse.” So I waited. And waited.

The birds seemed to have no interest in going anywhere, so it was on to Plan B. I got back in the car and drove around to the other side, and when I saw this I thought, aha! Maybe they set their watches wrong and would do an en masse liftoff! A few birds were even practicing!

That practice run was just a tease, so I got back in the car and wandered some more. Luckily at the Bosque there’s no shortage of beauty, fly-in or no.

Even the plant-filled waterways were beautiful.

Spoiler alert: this is as close as I got to a mass fly-in. What’s the deal, birds? Don’t you know you’re supposed to perform on command for the humans? So selfish.

Here’s where the day took a turn for the interesting, if by interesting, you mean stupid and annoying.

I did something I’ve never done before: I locked myself out of the Pilot. Which isn’t a huge deal since I have AAA, but the complications included a) the one local AAA lock guy was an hour and a half away, b) Sam was in the Pilot, and unfortunately hadn’t been trained in car unlocking techniques so was unable to help, c) the sun was setting and since it was mid-December, it was about to get really cold and – wait for it – my coat was in the Pilot. Next to the keys on the seat.

So. Sam’s in the car, wondering why I don’t stop with the profanity and just get back inside, and I’m noticing that I seem to be the very last person in the park. Even the gate attendant had gone home, and I’m starting to shiver so I leaned against the Pilot’s hood for warmth from the engine.

Not a remotely life-threatening mishap, but I knew it could get unpleasant if the AAA guy was later than expected, so I got moving. I had my iPhone – always carry your phone! – and I wandered around, wringing the last drops of beauty out of the day.

There was this.

And this. (Notice: not flying in! I’m pretty sure they never actually go anywhere.)

This is when my hands started going numb, since it was 21 degrees outside, and it’s the last photo I made. Notice the ice on the pond. Gorgeous, no?

I ended up doing laps around the lot at the entrance to stay warm, and mercifully Mr. AAA did arrive when he said he would. Super nice guy, and he let me sit in his car with the motor running so I could thaw.

He used this interesting system of inflatable pillows to wedge open the door wide enough to get a hook in to get my keys out, which is great, except it tripped the car alarm. In the bird sanctuary. After dark. So picture me, jumping out of his car and racing to every nearby pond and waterway, apologizing out loud to all the freaked out birds.

Mr. AAA didn’t bat an eye, just another day working at the Bosque, apparently. He handed me my keys, Sam jumped out and did a jig of joy, I thanked the nice man, and we all got on our way.

And you know what? Even with all that racket those birds stayed put, so I didn’t even get to witness a startle-induced ascension. Sigh.

P.S. I’m getting back to a weekly posting schedule, and am currently in Moab, UT. I try to post a photo every day to Facebook and Instagram, so if you want a Scamp livestream, check those out.

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