Sandhill cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, USA

Rest stop on the Rio

Rich rows of cottonwoods shade the marshy banks of the Rio Grande at this road-side wilderness about an hour south of Albuquerque. Known as the Bosque del Apache, the 57,000-acre protected area is an oasis for migrating birds, especially sandhill cranes such as these. They’re among tens of thousands of waterfowl that spend their holidays here in the autumn, as leaves take on the signature ochres of a New Mexico autumn.