Cranes, ducks and geese are starting to reappear at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Birds of a different feather — tourists and avian enthusiasts — were expected flock to Socorro County in December for the annual Festival for the Cranes, which celebrates migratory birds that overwinter in Southern New Mexico.

But the ongoing federal government shutdown led the Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, which plans the festival, to cancel the event this year.

“It’s heartbreaking, really,” said festival manager Cari Powell. “Not just the work necessarily, because ... we can reuse a lot of this for next year, and so it’s not all work lost. But the ability to get together with people who care about the refuge, and the birds, and this community, and just to be

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