Virtual Welcome Packet
Festival of the Cranes
December 1 – 3, 2022
Here is your quick at-a-glance guide to Festival of the Cranes to ensure you have the best experience possible! We’re looking forward to meeting you!
Photo by Jonathan Dowell, 1st place winner in the sandhill cranes category
WHAT to BRING
December mornings and late afternoons when wildlife are the most active are COLD with pre-dawn temps in the high 20’s.
More than likely, you’ll be up at dark o’clock to catch the morning van or bus that will take you onto the refuge. Temperatures are often in the upper 20’s so be sure to dress appropriately!
- Water Container (Food and Drink Trucks @ Refuge Visitor Center & Complimentary Beverages on second floor of Macey Center at New Mexico Tech)
- Face masks for indoor and on-bus safety
- Dress in layers
- Warm hat
- Wool socks
- Waterproof boots – the shorelines can be a bit muddy
- Hand warmers such as Hot Hands or HeatMax to tuck into your gloves, mittens, and boots!
- Headlamp/Flashlight to assist with walking in the dark
- Field Note Book and pencils
- Binoculars
- Camera Gear
- Microfiber cloths for camera lenses, binoculars, eyeglasses
- Handkerchief (if your nose runs in the cold)
- Lip Balm (lips and eyes dry out quickly in the desert)
- Mobile phone with bird ID apps installed (We like Merlin)
- NOTE: Macey Center, where seminars are taking place, will be warm.
Covid Safety :: We will take every precaution to prevent the spread of Covid and carefully watch the CDC and state recommendations.
Winter hats are available online here and in our physcial store located in the Welcome Center on the refuge.
NEW • Federal Government Masking Requirement
Effective November 28, 2022
Masks are required inside federal buildings and in non-household ride sharing situations due to elevated COVID levels. This includes the Visitor Center and all vans and buses. Please bring face masks and wear them when entering all Festival of the Cranes venues.
VENUES & MAPS
BOSQUE del APACHE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
1001 NM-1, San Antonio, NM 87832
Events
Workshops for Birders, Photographers, Mindfulness, etc.
- Vans & Busses: All workshop participants must enter refuge on designated vehicles.
- Parking: Please park in the Visitor Center lot located just north of the refuge entrance on Route 1.
- BE ON TIME! Buses will leave promptly on-time so be sure to check event start times.
REFUGE VISITOR CENTER
1001 NM-1, San Antonio, NM 87832
Amenities
- EXPO ROOM – Come in from the cold and meet exhibitors.
- INFO DESK
- FRIENDS INFO BOOTH
- FESTIVAL REGISTRATION TABLE
- FOOD & DRINK TRUCKS – Located in Refuge Plaza with warm drinks!
- RESTROOMS
NEW MEXICO TECH, MACEY CENTER
801 Leroy Pl, Socorro, NM 87801
Phone: (575) 835-5342
Website
EVENTS
Expert Seminars – Classrooms
Festival Keynote – Theatre on the 2nd Floor of Macey Center
Friends Dinner – 2nd Floor Lobby of Macey Center
Wildlife Zone – Outside
Performance – Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Dec. 2, 7:30pm
AMENITIES
INFO BOOTH with Friends of BdA staff and board members ready to assist you
RESTROOMS
CHARGING STATIONS for Smartphones and other USB devices
COMPLIMENTARY BEVERAGES on the 2nd Floor, including Coffee & Tea
SOCORRO and SAN ANTONIO, NM
WHERE TO EAT
SOCORRO
The New Mexico Tech Macey Center is located in Socorro along with several eating establishments, including a Starbucks and Cafeteria located on the college campus in the Fidel/ Student Union Building.
SAN ANTONIO
There is a convenience store and three restaurants in the small town of San Antonio which is less than 10 minutes north of the refuge, including:
- Owl Bar
- Buckhorn Tavern
- Crane Cafe
Barnaby Briggs
Chair, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
Keynote: Wetland Magic: The Role of Wetlands in a Changing World
Wetlands are magic – literally! Although they represent only a tiny percentage of the world’s surface, and are disappearing fast, they still have the potential to save our planet.
How can we – citizens, consumers, organizations, and private corporations – collaborate to create and restore wetlands? Our distinguished speaker, Barnaby Briggs, chair of Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), will tell you how, by sharing his practical experiences from around the globe. Creating and restoring wetlands has started and is already delivering spectacular results. It’s not too late!
If you are keen on learning more about wetlands and want to join this movement, you won’t want to miss this inspirational presentation.
Barnaby has spent his career working on environmental and social issues, “hands-on”. He began his working life in the energy sector and then moved to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds where he helped them coordinate an international biodiversity response to the Kyoto climate negotiations. Most recently, in addition to his role at the WWT, he chairs a Climate Partnership which brings together all the parties with a stake in saving the planet in a non-political forum.
SOCORRO EVENTS and WILDLIFE ZONE
A Christmas Carol by Socorro Community
DECEMBER 2ND • 7:30 P.M.
Socorro youth, NMT students and community thespians perform the classic Dicken’s tale. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly man who lives alone and only cares about making and hoarding his money. Through the course of three supernatural visits that occur the night of Christmas Eve, Scrooge learns the true meaning of life and Christmas.
