The Refuge Tour

Henry and I have our own system of exploring the refuge. We've been around the loops many times on the trips we've made. But I wanted to see the refuge with someone else's eyes. And I was hoping to get to parts of the refuge that were not open to the public. Plus a tour guide tells you background things you may not learn elsewhere. So, I signed up for two refuge tours.

My first one started at 2:00 in the afternoon. We loaded on to a big white school bus and headed off. At first the information was stuff I already knew. And it was not nearly as focused on identifying the little birds we drove by. But bit by bit, I warmed to the tour leader. In the big ponds the snags (the dead tree skeletons) had been planted dead as perches and roosts for the raptors, particularly the eagles. The open spaces in the dense coyote willow is chopped each year to allow the refuge visitors a better view into the ponds and fields where the cranes and the geese feed. I learned that the geese need at least three days to regain the weight they've lost during their migration. FIve or more days if they are too disturbed.

And yes, we did go back into areas of the refuge that you can't get to otherwise. While it was the same loop as we travelled with the Black Belt Birding, it was a different time of day and we saw more raptors. But still no turkeys!

For several reasons, I opted not to do the second tour. But it was nice to see the refuge through a volunteer's eyes. There are a number of retired people who spend the winter as volunteers at the refuge. If it is like Santa Ann NWR, you do 24 hours a week of volunteer work and get to park your RV at the refuge. The minimum stay during the winter at the Bosque is 4 months. Hum . . . . I could see doing that one winter!