A bird's-eye view: Festival of the Cranes is back to celebrate feathered travelers at the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge will play host to quite the spectacle in early December.

The 34th annual Festival of the Cranes, which celebrates the survival and annual migration of the sandhill crane, will take place in Socorro from Wednesday, Dec. 6, through Saturday, Dec. 9. During those days, visitors will have the opportunity to witness the cranes, as well as snow geese, in the wild before they migrate north in February.

The event attracts avid bird watchers from all over the world — and for good reason. The oldest fossil on record of the sandhill crane is 1.7 million years old.

“It’s because of the majesty of the birds, the fact that they look prehistoric. They’re one of the oldest species of birds that we’ve found any proof of anywhere in the world,” said Julie-Anna Blomquist, events manager for the Friends of the Bosque del Apache. “They’re really good at surviving in this area. They’re very beautiful to watch. Their call can be heard over five miles. You can definitely hear them long before you see them.

“In addition to that, the snow geese also come at the same time, so you get both birds coming in the hundreds, thousands of numbers, filling the skies and your ears with all their calls.”

The Friends of the Bosque del Apache took over the festival in 1993 after the refuge itself ran a smaller version in the years prior. Now it’s a four-day extravaganza that offers more than 70 educational workshops — both in the field at the refuge and in the classroom at New Mexico Tech University, which is a partner for the event.

“The refuge itself is open to all — just coming and enjoying the sights, the scenes and sounds are monumental for the event,” Blomquist said. “But we have a number of paid and free workshops that you can partake in. We wanted to try to have some really safe and warm classrooms. There, you can learn about any number of different species of birds; you can learn about photography; you can learn about conservationism; you can learn about the history of New Mexico. And then we also have quite a few workshops that’ll be talking about biomimicry and why birds look the way they do.

A bird's-eye view: Festival of the Cranes is back to celebrate feathered travelers at the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

“Then we also have the tour portion of it, which is gonna be at the refuge itself. That one, people will be getting on buses and going out with the guide to see not just sandhills and not just snow geese, but everything that’s out there. There will be topics of photography, birding, mental health and some hikes as well.”

Many of the free workshops fill up in advance, but Blomquist advises anyone who is interested in something specific to reach out to the Friends of the Bosque del Apache if that event is sold out. In some cases, late registration will be made available when people can’t attend as originally planned.

For prime viewing of the cranes and geese, it is recommended that visitors arrive at the refuge approximately 30 minutes before sunrise, as the birds begin their day of foraging, and 30 minutes before sunset, when they return. However, if those times don’t work, there will be plenty of other opportunities for birdwatching throughout the day.

“There’s definitely a lot of spectacle in that, but they are at the refuge all day long,” Blomquist said. “They do fly off repeatedly throughout the day, so you’ll see them in the skies all day. The snow geese will also make the sky white with their bodies because there’s so many of them in a group. There’s something really spectacular watching that at sunrise and at sunset, yes.”

The Festival of the Cranes has plenty to offer wildlife aficionados, but it’s not something that comes together by accident. Blomquist credits U.S. Fish and Wildlife and donors that support the Bosque del Apache for making it “one of the most managed wildlife refuges in the United States.”

“Just come ready to close your eyes and relax and listen,” she said. “To see and just enjoy, be in the moment.”