Flock of Sandhill Cranes flying, Rio Grande

Rich rows of cottonwoods shade the marshy banks of the Rio Grande at this highway-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 vacation here beginning in the fall, as leaves take on the signature ochres of a New Mexico autumn.