Bosque del Apache NWR

Al Hansen

Al Hansen

Well-known member
Bev and I decided to jump into the car and run down to the refuge to see if any of the ponds were beginning to fill up with water. Most were not touched yet, because the demands from agriculture uses most of the Rio Grande. They were filling a large pond on the west side of the Hwy. 1 and it was holding a good number of pintail, that small flock of lesser snows that I saw back in the first part of October and some Canada geese. On October 31st all irrigation ceases in the state of New Mexico with the exception of the native Americans who can still use the water if they see fit. So soon the refuge will be busy filling the ponds.

We drove down to the main part of the refuge and found one small pond that was holding more pintails. This pond was close enough for me to use my camera and long lens. It marked the very first time in my life that I have ever captured on pixels the wing action of a puddle duck exploding off the water. I put the time sequence on each of the 4 shots. It is hard to imagine how fast they can catapult themselves into the air. Now I do realize why I miss them when jump shooting. Just think, just a touch over 1/3rd of a second was the time lapse from the 1st shot through to the 4th shot.

All I can say is Mother Nature is really something to behold. We are so lucky to be involved like we are.
Al

By the way, most of these pintails are drakes and sometimes they beat the teal down here. They get down here in September when our temps are still in the 80sF and 90sF.



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Al, you reminded me of Kesterson NWR when you commented about agricultural needs trumping wetlands for waterfowl...
 
Rick, a few years ago I hunted with the chief waterfowl biologist here at Bosque del Apache. I asked John what his title was. He told me that he was hired to manage "arid wetlands". Well, with the Rio Grande totally dry during the summer months when we were in the worst drought for some time, it is understandable. Things were so bad for a while that the only water they had was from the low flow ditch. Farmers were also using that.

Reminds me of the time we took our kids to Yellowstone and from there went to raft the Snake River. While drifting down stream the guide told us all that by the time the Snake River got close to the Columbia it, too, was close to being dry. That made me think of the Colorado River if you ever have driven through the Yuma, AZ area.
Al

Oh, I forgot to include this in my opener. Bev and I had just driven through the refuge and had entered private land once again when we had to make a sudden stop. Out in the middle of the highway, enjoying the heat of the black top road was this female. I got my camera and began walking towards her from the rear. She slithered to the brush on the east side of the road and disappeared. I am so thankful we saw her because it jolted me awake to the point that in just 8 days our duck season opens. It happened to be 74F at the time and I can tell you that I have hunted days when it was 74 or at least going to be. I am thankful that in the early morning hours during duck season/our regular season which begins in late October, the temps are usually in the high 30sF or low 40sF. That snake told me just one thing---Never Let Your Guard Down during duck season. There is no way in China that I would attempt to check out what was under that bush. She was in her safe zone and I was comfortable with that. I got back in the car and we drove the 8 miles to our home. Oh by the way, I don't care how large your hand is, you would not be able to touch your fingers to your thumb when trying to grasp it in that mid section of hers. She was definitely a healthy viper! I noticed that she had lost part of her rattles. It was evident that some had broken away.



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Great pictures as usual Al,
It's nice to be able to visualize the area you talk about now that I've seen it with you. Is the Rio Grande hunting spot looking favorable still for your opener?

Wish that girl woudd have showed herself when I was there, such a beautiful snake.
 
Al......Could you send a trophy Pintail to my blind when the season opens here on Nov. 2? Shot Pintails before but have never shot a truly trophy specimen worth getting mounted. Just received about a month ago my Canvasback, Bufflehead, and Long-tailed Duck (Old Squaw) that I got a couple of years ago. Season before last was probably one of the best and costliess (taxidermy bill) that my son and I have ever had! That Old Squaw was really rare for Oklahoma!
 
Hey Ben, this area where the rattlesnake was only about a block or so north of the refuge.

We will be 74F tomorrow and then it drops to 59F and then 60F for the highs on Thursday and Friday. What I like seeing beginning on Monday through Thursday for the 1st four days of our duck season the early morning temps will be right around 32F. I can relax a little and just make sure I dress in layers because the highs will be in the mid 60sF and I will be home long before it warms up that much.
Al
 
Thank you so much, Tom. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Al

Here is a picture of my new lap pup/dog who is now 17 weeks old. Rico is doing just fine and I love working with him. He is replacing Chaco so next summer it will be his turn.





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Here are a few via cyber space. I know what you mean about setting your goals high for what you want.

I was thinking of the Old Squaw you got and what part of memory lane it will dominate. Way to go. It reminded me of Sonny Jurgens from Big Stone county who when he was a senior in high school I believe, shot an albino drake mallard. Those of us who were already duck hunting nuts as 8th graders thought he was one of the luckiest guys in the world.

My wishes for you this year, Tom, would be that on some warm days in January, some pintails from Texas decided to fly north into Oklahoma and enjoy the weather and the food. Maybe one of them will be on your limit of ducks that day.
Al

Does anyone know why certain ducks like this drake pintail seem to like lowering their chests into the water while swimming? Notice the water flowing over him behind his neck. Pintails do this a lot.
This picture, Tom, was taken on November 4th. He has much dressing up to do before it can go to the big dance in the coming spring. Those black tail feathers are the same length as other feathers around them.


The 2nd shot was taken on December 18th. Check out his back and wings and compare the two. His adult plumage is getting there. In January most are looking ready for the occasion.

The 3rd shot is of the area that was holding roughly 5,000 pintails plus other species. I had hundreds of them within 50 feet of me. It was wonderful time.



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Since we are at 4,600 + feet here we will normally have days up into the 40sf and 50sF then dropping anywhere from around 30F to maybe 20F. If the river begins to ice up I will wait until it is running without ice. Don't care for my dogs to be in it. We always have big swings in temps here. In the day time it warms up quickly, maybe around 11AM on. Then you can feel the change start when the sun begins to set. with 30 degree swings done on most days.I am always on my way home before it gets too warm. I much prefer hunting without snakes in the area. I like the peace of mind at my age!

In the summer time it can get up to 106F and it will drop back down into the 60s on most nights. Rick when we were in a really tough drought period of time, there was one summer day where the humidity rate was 2%. Normally it will be anywhere from 5% to maybe 9%. If clouds come over into our area I watch them disappear in front of my eyes and once again we are in a severe clear setting.
Al
 
Beautiful pictures, Al!!

I once flew into Palm Springs for the Primaxin launch meeting back in 1984 when I was still working in infectious disease. We came down via a small commuter. I stepped out of the plane on the tarmac and my eyes instantly dried-up, making me squint uncontrollably over the walk to the terminal. We were warned repeatedly about snakes on the walking paths coming out at dusk to absorb the heat...

I also recall running out of light on the backside of Devils Tower on a trip out to Yellowstone for an American Fisheries Society national meeting. As we headed in on the trail that circles the base there were several signs regarding rattle snakes basking on the heat radiating from the asphalt roadways, particularly down by the campground due to the prairie dog "town" nearby on the Bell Fouche River. Our headlamp batteries pooped-out and we each grabbed a long stick to swing back-and-forth in an arc in front of us to give us some advance warning of any "rattlers" in our path. Between the three of us, we bumped one snake in the dark, unfortunately, right at the beginning of our trek, raising the tension level several notches.

When I was working summers for an engineering and land surveying company in senior year and college we encountered snakes pretty routinely. In all that time I only came across two pigmy rattlers while out in southern Michigan. One was while hunting pheasants and Gourdneck State Game Area and the other was on a large section breakdown out by Galesburg.
 
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Boy, Dave, you are built of much stronger resolve than I am. There is no way that snake would be in our home. I'm glad we have dogs in the house. They are much better detectives than I could ever be. I hope your duck season has been a good one so far this fall.
Al
 
Enjoyed reading what you had to say and where you have been in your travels. It made me think of driving through parts of Utah late one summer's night in the early 70s. I could not believe the number of snakes out on the highway. Saying that quickly brought back a childhood memory of my father driving the highway that was either in and or close to Everglades National Park in Florida. That had to be the most snakes we had ever seen. This was around 1950. We were coming back from the drive we made going down to Key West. What was so cool about that trip was the place we camped out on one of the islands. We were the only folks there, which made me think of the story of Robinson Crusoe that dad had read to my sister and me. I remember crawling out of the tent the next morning just as the sun was about to rise. It was magical. Just our family and no sounds of vehicles driving on the highway yet because of the time of the day it was.

Now back to reality---in 48 more hours from now, which is 7:00AM, I will have Chip sitting by my side, sitting in my blind that I completed yesterday, straining my eyes while searching the sky for ducks. Monday morning, on the 28th of October, can't get here fast enough.
Al
 
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