Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Roswell, NM U.S.A.

The 24,500-acre Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located on the northern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, where the land slowly changes to desert and shrub habitats.

The refuge is home to wintering waterfowl and sandhill cranes as well as a great variety of other wildlife. Nesting birds include snowy plovers, interior least terns, American avocets and black-necked stilts.

The refuge is located in the middle Pecos River Valley and includes a playa lake, marshes, man-made lakes and 700 acres of cultivated cropland.

The refuge also includes the 9,620-acre Salt Creek Wilderness Area.

Sandhill cranes at a river's edge.