Bosque del Apache NWR is a sacred part of our wild heritage preserving a spectacle a millennium in the making! I feel very fortunate to have been wondering its landscape for the past thirty-nine years with my camera. I have to admit I spent the vast majority of my time just watching more than shooting, both seem to place my warmth deep in my soul. Don’t get me wrong, I do take a few photos, this one is #26009 of Greater Sandhill Cranes to be filed in the digital library with another 16k in the slide file. A case could be made I’ve been there, done that yet #26009 proves that wrong. “It only takes one” the proverbial answer to how many photos does it take. My problem is, I want the one so I keep going out. For myself, #26009 comes really close in telling the story of the Sandhill Crane at Bosque del Apache, NM. At least, for today.

They are often confused as being wolves in winter. It’s those rich, think winter coats that make the Coyote look so spectacular. There is a size difference between Coyotes and the Gray Wolf but if they are not side by side, that knowledge doesn’t help. Just look at the tip of the tail. See that black, yep, that’s a Coyote. This pair are two of four that were trying their very best to take advantage of a four day old elk kill. Well, elk drowning would be more accurate. It seems the bull was trying to cross the Lamar River, fell through the thin ice and couldn’t get back out and drowned. The Coyotes and other scavengers thought they had the perfect frozen dinner until the body got trapped under the ice, only its massive rack was above. That didn’t stop them from trying and providing us with a great show and some fun photo opps.

Those two hours flew! That’s what the clock said when the River Otters finally went on their very merry way, but it seemed like it was just a few minutes. What appeared to me a female with two pups from the spring (I honestly don’t know if that’s the case) appeared just to be having the grandest of times. Perched over the Lamar River, what I could see in the 800mm was sheer enjoyment at being free in the ice cold waters to do whatever their mood struck them. It was the first time in my shooting career that stills were totally inadequate to tell the story. I shot nearly thirty minutes of their antics and in watching that video, smiling and laughing all over again. I now see this as a personal challenge, taking those feelings from the action and translating it into a single still image. I love those kinds of challenges and this one starts with, finding again these river clowns!