More from the Bosque del Apache NWR

I was really surprised when my wife told me that she saw a White-throated sparrow near the HQ building in the Bosque.  The only members of this species I have observed, and there haven't been many, have been around water.  In retrospect I was surprised to note a rather wide range for the bird, but it's a relatively rare bird here in the PacNW.  There seemed to be only one in the area and I was lucky enough to be able to photograph it. 

I found a Curve-bill thrasher hiding in a cactus, also near the HQ building.  Nothing I could do would entice it out of it's comfort zone deep within the cactus patch, but it would sit and look at me for extended periods of time.  This is a beautiful bird and I regret that I couldn't photograph it in the sunlight! 

The Snow geese in the Bosque fly out in in the mornings to feed in the surrounding farm fields during the day.  The morning exodus is generally over in a couple of minutes.  However when the geese (and Sandhill cranes) return in the evening they come back in small groups ranging from two to three all the way up to maybe 20.  This small group was returning to the refuge in the late afternoon.  In this photo a group of Snow geese appears to be escorting a dark phase adult.