Features
Free Guided Hike
Join us every Saturday from March 4, 2017 to June 3, 2017 for a free guided Canyon Hike!
Free Guided Tours:
For Wildlife & You
The refuge uses many different tools to actively manage these lands for the benefit of wildlife, habitat, and you.
Learn How
Wilderness Units
Bosque del Apache Refuge
includes three designated wilderness units: Chupadera Peak, Indian Well &
Little San Pasqual Wilderness Units.
Designated by
Congress
VISIT TODAY!
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge's Visitor Center and Nature Store hours during September 1st, 2016 through May 31st, 2017 are from 8:00AM to 4:00PM daily.
In June, July, and August, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge's Visitor Center and Nature Store hours are 8:00AM to 4:00PM Thursday through Monday.
Visit our Nature Store, receive a refuge map, and see our informational displays! Visitor Center and Nature Store Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and the Fourth of July.
Refuge's Upcoming EventsAbout the NWRS
The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife, and plants.
Learn more about the NWRS
Recent Bird Sightings
As you plan your visit to the Middle Rio Grande Valley and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, you may be interested in which species of birds have been observed in the area. The citizen science site ebird.org is a great resource for up-to-date bird sighting lists. As you explore the site, you may uncover a trove of other useful information about birds and bird sightings that will allow you to predict which bird species you may see on the refuge during a given season.
A fossil of a crane was found in Nebraska that is estimated to be nearly 10 million years old. This makes cranes one of the oldest known species of birds in existence today.
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This band was worn for
36 and a half years by a Rocky Mountain sandhill crane (RMSH). It is one of the
oldest RMSHs known and the band it wore had limited wear for all that time in
the wild. The bird was banded with its brood mate (a two-chick brood) on 29
June 1973, one mile north of Border, Wyoming on the Thomas Fork of the Bear
River.
Frequent Flyer Miles
Sandhill cranes move among
several areas throughout the day to feed, rest, and socialize. Social behavior
includes at least ten different types of calls, various threatening postures,
and elaborate dances for everything from joy to courtship.
Learn more
Page Photo Credits — Cranes in flight over vibrant sky, Refuge water manager, Brian Greeves in a refuge corn field / USFWS, Refuge canyon view / USFWS, Sandhill crane submerged during brilliant sunset hues, Great horned owl / © Bernadette Madison, USFWS, Sandhill crane / © Angela Dedrickson, USFWS, Close-up of crane's face, All photos courtesy of USFWS unless otherwise noted.
Last Updated: May 14, 2017