By Megan Wilde
On a freezing dawn at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, thousands of sandhill cranes are slowly and noisily beginning their day. In small groups, the cranes hoist their hefty red-capped forms from glimmering ponds. Then they glide elegantly over amber-lit grasslands and cottonwoods, and disappear against distant mauve mountains. As pristine as this wildlife spectacle appears, the setting is far from natural. What is this place? And how has it been specially crafted for these birds?
