Bosque in February?

I want to get to Bosque before the geese and cranes begin to leave in mass.
I understand they left in February last year. Does anyone have any
information or ideas about how late I can wait to get there?

Thanks,

Rusty
www.horsenhounds.com

 > I want to get to Bosque before the geese and cranes begin to leave in
mass.
 > I understand they left in February last year. Does anyone have any
 > information or ideas about how late I can wait to get there?

I've been there several times in February and typically there were
plenty of geese and cranes, also more raptors than earlier in the
winter. I think last year was warmer and drier than this year, which
may explain why the birds moved out early.

You can get current Bosque bird counts at
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.friendsofthebosque.org/" target="_blank">http://www.friendsofthebosque.org/</a> ... looks like around 14,000 cranes
and 36,000 geese, which is about as many as it has all winter so the
count is still high. I wouldn't wait too much longer but you can
contact the visitor center by phone to get up to the day bird counts if
you're unsure.

Bill<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->