Visitor photo taken at the Wetland Roost and submitted to Chronolog in December 2024.
Article by Amanda Walker, Bosque del Apache NWR Park Ranger
If you visit the refuge once or twice a winter, it may be hard to imagine what this place looks like any other time of year. But Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge really is a refuge for all seasons. Year-round, refuge staff are busily managing water and land to support the wildlife who call this place home or a temporary rest stop. We write articles highlighting some of this work, including snapshots of time to help paint the picture of how Bosque del Apache changes throughout the year. But the transitions can still be hard to visualize.
Enter Chronolog, a crowdsourced, web-based photo collection tool that anyone can contribute to. Bosque del Apache now has eight of these photo stations located throughout the refuge, and nearly 600 photos have already been collected since October 2023, when they were installed. Peek for yourself and watch the leaves change color, the wetlands fill and drain, the large flocks arrive and leave. Though this tool won’t give you a live update, photos are uploaded quickly after submission, and if someone visited the Boardwalk or Point of Lands or Eagle Scout Deck recently, they may have contributed a photo.
How can you participate? Next time you’re at the refuge, look for a post with a small gray frame on top. Place your phone horizontally, snap the picture, and email it to Chronolog. Make sure to review the instruction sign attached to the post, since each photo station has a unique email address to submit your photo to.
Meanwhile, check in on one or more of the Chronolog stations at Bosque del Apache. What does the refuge look like now? Next time you visit, make your own contribution to our annual picture story.
Though there is no fee to contribute photos, there is an annual fee for us to use the platform. Friends of Bosque del Apache graciously funds this project, helping to visually demonstrate that Bosque del Apache really is a refuge for all seasons.
Visitor photo taken at the Boardwalk and submitted to Chronolog in August 2024.