Sandhill cranes take off from a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge earlier this month.
Jared Murphy/The New Mexican
It’s 6:30 a.m. at the Bosque del Apache roosting pond. The valley is filled with darkness, and the temperatures are below freezing. Photographers arrive in their cars, bundled up and ready to spend a few hours photographing the sandhill cranes.
Every winter, thousands of sandhill cranes migrate to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas to spend the next few months. While the numbers have dwindled in recent years, visitors can still catch a glimpse of these prehistoric-like creatures en masse.
As the sun peeks over the mountains, the sandhill cranes slowly begin to untuck their heads from behind their wings and start waking up. As more and more cranes open their eyes, the sounds of their vocalizations grow louder and louder, filling the Bosque with the music of their calls.
The warmer it gets, the more active the cranes become, walking around the pond waiting for their turn to ascend into the sky in search of food. By the time golden hour has hit the Bosque, the cranes start taking off in droves, illuminated by the sunshine enveloping the valley. The cranes seem to watch and wait for their turn to take off, almost as if they have an unspoken rule or a system in place.
After they leave the roosting pond, the cranes can be found all around the refuge searching for food in ponds and fields alike.
Sandhill cranes wake up just before sunrise in a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
Jared Murphy/The New Mexican
The sun rises over the Chupadera Mountains as sandhill cranes awaken on a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
Jared Murphy/The New Mexican
Sandhill cranes fly off in search of food in the early morning hours at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
Jared Murphy/The New Mexican
Sandhill cranes fly just above a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
Jared Murphy/The New Mexican
Sandhill cranes preen in a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
Jared Murphy/The New Mexican
Sandhill cranes fly above a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
Jared Murphy/The New Mexican
Sandhill cranes wake up just before sunrise in a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
Jared Murphy/The New Mexican
Sandhill cranes take off from a pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.