Boque del Apache

This gives you some idea of the incredible number of birds at the sanctuary. Truly jaw-dropping. Having grown up in NM, you might think I would have more memories of this place, but birding was never high on our priorities I suppose. Clarence will perhaps have more, but I doubt yesterday will be one, he was sleeping in the car seat while I was taking this.

I like this image because the birds are so dense they form a pattern. Took it with the 80-400 VR Nikon on my D70, as the Leica is not suited for this type of photography. The VR seems to work, I did not want to deal with a tripod. One of the side-effects of a visit to the Bosque will for some people be a severe case of gear envy, you will see many many huge lenses there.

The 80-400 is not so bad, though when I was testing it out near the house a group of school children noticed it and started shouting that "a camera man" was there. Possibly because with the hood on it is over a foot long?