The solitude of the winter day remained absolute at New Mexico’s Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Usually, one would expect to see thousands of birds in the bosque, especially sandhill cranes and snow geese, foraging in the fields. But today, for whatever reason, the refuge remained empty.
It was a puzzle to me where the birds were, but it was also a puzzle I could not, and never would, answer.
Despite the emptiness, a few lonely birds had the fields in small yet isolated pockets. Never the less, it was nothing like it might been. The birds must have found better foraging somewhere else. I continued to search to see what birds I might see.
I could barely see a few small birds in the distance in one field. It was hard to make them out, but clearly, there were at least a few birds out there. Given the paucity so far, there couldn’t have been many birds, but that same scarcity meant this was all I had. It’s best to sit and wait and see what might happen. Of course, I didn’t expect much. Maybe a bird or two would take to the wing with any luck.
My patience didn’t have to wear too thin. Within a couple of moments, the birds took off. Much to my surprise, a few more previously invisible birds joined them. They were followed by a few more, then more and more and more.
Within seconds, the sky was full of invisible birds, all rising together!
The bosque birds obscured my view entirely—not that I was complaining.
As quickly as the birds rose, they descended back into place, each disappearing as soon as it landed. The field became empty again, and the refuge was utterly still.
But now I knew the refuge was far more populated than I thought.