The birds at Bosque del Apache were unpredictable this year. In past years, the Sandhill Cranes would roost in the Track Pond (referred to on the Bosque del Apache official map as the Roost Pond), arriving as the sun went down and staying there during the night. We’d find them there in the morning before the sun came up. Sometimes, it was so cold at night that the shallow pond froze around their legs. This year, we found the Sandhill Cranes at the Track Pond only a couple of times in the morning and in the evening. In this photograph they’re at the Track Pond, preening and feeding before settling down for the night.
