If you want to take a fun nature day trip, I highly recommend the Bosque Del Apache. Bosque Del Apache is a national wildlife refuge that is about an hour and a half away from Albuquerque, just south of Socorro in San Antonio, NM. The name is from the Spanish, ‘woods of the Apache’, and describes the area along the river where the Apache tribe members lived. Although all of the Bosque del Apache is beautiful and full of varied wildlife, it is best known for seeing the Sandhill Cranes, thousands of which spend the winter there.

If you are looking for specific birds, you can go to the Bosque Del Apache bar charts ahead of time to look at which birds will be there and when. Merlin Bird ID is a free app that is very helpful for identifying birds by picture and sound recording.

Bosque Del Apache was established in 1939, It’s managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, and covers over 57,000 acres as a winter stop for migrating waterfowl. It’s a particularly popular site to visit in the winter where thousands of cranes, geese, and ducks spend the colder months. In 1975, over 30,427 acres were Designated as wilderness area which is why you are not able to access parts of it. While you can bring your dog, you have to leave them in the car for the safety of the wildlife.

The best times to visit are sunrise, which can mean a painfully early start from home, or late afternoon and into sunset. The birds tend to feed in the fields during the day and then return to the water as the sun goes down to avoid predators overnight.

The drive is easy, being a pretty straight shot south down I-25, and quite scenic. You will need $5 per car to get in (cash or card) or it’s free if you have a National Parks Pass.

I recommend a stop at the visitor center when you arrive. The center is full of useful information about all the wildlife that is found in and around the area.. There are also volunteer rangers that can direct you to the best places to see the birds currently in the area. Maps are available for free to take with you to help guide your trip.

There is an easy 12-mile car loop that takes about 30-45 minutes to drive, but you can stop anywhere along the way to see the wildlife and extend your time.You might run into more volunteer rangers at different places to point out what species are moving through. We saw an incredible number of birds, including Sandhill Cranes, multiple species of geese (Snow, Ross’, Canada, Cackling), and numerous species of ducks.

Things got more exciting as sunset drew near. Some people brought chairs, blankets as well as cameras and scopes to sit and enjoy the birds as they return to the water for the night. The Owl Cafe in San Antonio is highly recommended for a green chili burger before you hit I-25 North towards home.