Sandhill Cranes
I've spent considerable time the last few winters photographing birds at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio NM and at the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex about 40 miles north in Bernardo NM. Several thousand Sandhill Cranes over winter here and it's been a great pleasure photographing these magnificent birds.
Sandhill Crane
The sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the American Plains. This is the most important stopover area for the nominotypical subspecies, the lesser sandhill crane (Grus canadensis canadensis), with up to 450,000 of these birds migrating through annually.
. . .
Sandhill cranes fly south for the winter. In their wintering areas, they form flocks of over 10,000. One place this happens is at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, 100 mi (160 km) south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is an annual Sandhill Crane Festival in November.
Wikipedia / Sandhill Crane
Snow at the Roost
Anticipation
I Couldn't Give a Hoot
Greeting a New Day
Airfoil
Keep an Eye Out
First Light
Sorry I'm Late
Dawn on a Foggy Morn
Pure Gold
Throwing Shade
Form in Flight
Glide
Breakfast Awaits
Climbing Out
Look! I’m an Egret!
Daybreak at the Roost
Sandhill Crane, A Portrait in Motion
Untitled
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Morning at the Roost
Frosty Morning Flight
Juvenile Sandhill Crane
Sandhill Crane, A Portrait
Ready; Set; Go! a Triptych
Scram!!
Shadowed
Wake Up, Sleepy Head
Sunrise at the Flight Deck
Bosque Sunrise
An Early Departure
Be My Valentine
Time to Go
Dawn at the Roost
Windy
Crane's in the Corn...
Catching an Early Flight
The Couple that Flaps Together...
The Running Start
Sandhill Crane, A Portrait in Flight
Baby, That Water's COLD!
Expose Yourself to the Bosque
Snow at the Roost
Sandhill Cranes at the Roost, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 28, 2019
Anticipation
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 30, 2017
A few cranes have been roosting at this partially flooded pond and I managed to catch this one standing on the ice, watching the morning sun move across the field toward them.
I Couldn't Give a Hoot
Sandhill Cranes, Two Pairs and a Juvenile, Unison Calling, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 12, 2017
Young Sandhill Cranes begin participating in the family unison call at about two years of age. Females raise their head to about 45 degrees and return to the horizontal between calls while males usually raise the head to a more nearly vertical position.
From the above I would deduce these 5 cranes comprise a mated pair and a second mated pair with their first year juvenile offspring.
Greeting a New Day
Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
October 30, 2017
The rising sun and I caught this pair of sandhill cranes greeting a new day.
Airfoil
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
January 23, 2017
The Sandhill Cranes were flying close in good light as they left the ponds on this clear morning and I got some nice closeups - like this wing detail.
Basic mechanics of bird flight
Lift and drag
The fundamentals of bird flight are similar to those of aircraft, in which the aerodynamic forces sustaining flight are lift and drag. Lift force is produced by the action of air flow on the wing, which is an airfoil. The airfoil is shaped such that the air provides a net upward force on the wing, while the movement of air is directed downward. Additional net lift may come from airflow around the bird's body in some species, especially during intermittent flight while the wings are folded or semi-folded (cf. lifting body).
Aerodynamic drag is the force opposite to the direction of motion, and hence the source of energy loss in flight. The drag force can be separated into two portions, lift-induced drag, which is inherent in the wing (primarily arising from wingtip vortices), and parasitic drag, including skin friction drag from the friction of air and body surfaces and form drag from the bird's frontal area. The streamlining of bird's body and wings reduces these forces.
Flapping flight
When a bird flaps, as opposed to gliding, its wings continue to develop lift as before, but the lift is rotated forward to provide thrust, which counteracts drag and increases its speed, which has the effect of also increasing lift to counteract its weight, allowing it to maintain height or to climb. Flapping involves two stages: the down-stroke, which provides the majority of the thrust, and the up-stroke, which can also (depending on the bird's wings) provide some thrust. At each up-stroke the wing is slightly folded inwards to reduce the energetic cost of flapping-wing flight. Birds change the angle of attack continuously within a flap, as well as with speed.
Gliding flight
When in gliding flight, the upward aerodynamic force on both birds and gliders is equal to the weight. In gliding flight, no propulsion is used; the energy to counteract the energy loss due to aerodynamic drag is either taken from the potential energy of the bird, resulting in a descending flight, or is replaced by rising air currents ("thermals"), referred to as soaring flight.
The above is excerpted from Wikipedia's Bird Flight article.
Keep an Eye Out
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
January 24, 2017
"You never know..."
First Light
Sandhill Cranes at Roost, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 31, 2016
All too often my first shot is the best and it's all down hill from there. Like this morning - the more I tried the worse it got.
I took this photo about half an hour before sunrise when I was attracted to the cranes roosting in reflected light from a break in the clouds. Some birds were awake already and were ghosted by the 5 second exposure but those still asleep make the shot.
Sorry I'm Late
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 30, 2016
Tonight didn't hold much promise for photographing the cranes flying in to roost at the ponds. The light of an overcast sky was poor until well into the afternoon. Then it started to clear and, bingo, a beautiful sunset developed.
The cranes were a little late coming is and the folks who showed up for this "event" got a chance to practice some colorful low light photography.
Great fun!
Dawn on a Foggy Morn
Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 24, 2016
It rained the day before and this day dawned heavily fogged in at the Bosque. The photo opportunities were fantastic as the fog lifted above a wet glistening landscape and the sun shone in under lingering clouds. Many great pictures of the unusually boldly colored desert landscape were captured that morning I'm sure.
Pure Gold
Juvenile Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 12, 2016
I caught this juvenile crane flying low above dead fall grasses as it and its family were flying out from the roost a few minutes after sunrise this morning. Golden light + golden reflection = pure gold.
Golden Hour
When the sun is near the horizon, sunlight travels through a greater depth of atmosphere, reducing the intensity of the direct light, so that more of the illumination comes from indirect light from the sky (Thomas 1973, 9–13), reducing the lighting ratio. More blue light is scattered, so if the sun is present, its light appears more reddish. In addition, the sun's small angle with the horizon produces longer shadows.
Wikipedia
Throwing Shade
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 8, 2016
I caught this crane emerging from the shade of a nearby tree as it was leaving the Farm Fields in the late afternoon at the Bosque.
I like the effect.
Form in Flight
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 4, 2016
This morning dawned breezy and crisp to a bright cloudless sky. Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese were flying in and out of the corn fields at the top of the Farm Loop just begging to be photographed. They were happily obliged :-).
Glide
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 22, 2016
I caught this Sandhill Crane gliding toward an early morning landing at a corn field at the northern end of the Farm Loop at the Refuge. The light was perfect for this shot and, with some luck, so was the exposure (though perhaps a tad underexposed to keep shutter speed up). Other than cropping I've made no adjustments to this image.
This happens so infrequently for me I just have to mention it. It seems like only about one in a thousand of my pictures truly satisfies me and one so well exposed as to need no enhancements is much rarer than that. I took about 2,000 pictures yesterday morning and there are only a couple besides this one that I really like. I guess that's what keeps me interested in this challenging hobby.
Breakfast Awaits
Sandhill Crane leaving the roost, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 24, 2015
About sunrise the sandhill cranes leave the roost to go spend their day foraging in nearby fields. This is a favored time for photographers to catch them taking to the air as they leave the pond lit by the wonderful early sunlight.
Climbing Out
Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 22, 2015
That's All Folks
This years annual Festival of the Cranes put on by the Friends of the Bosque at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio NM concludes today. The birders, photographers, venders, and numerous visitors are getting ready to head out which must be a great relief to the birds. The pressure to perform gets to be a bit much I'm sure.
Look! I’m an Egret!
Leucistic Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
October 31, 2015
This crane was first spotted at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge last fall and has returned again this year.
I didn't have any luck getting good photos of this bird when I was at the Bosque last year but it looks like my luck is turning. This crane and its mate were hanging out close enough to the road into the refuge for the clutch of photographers I joined to get some nice shots this morning. If this is indicative of their future habits this fall there will soon be a glut of images on the web of this beautiful bird.
Leucism
Leucism (occasionally spelled leukism) is a general term for the phenotype resulting from defects in pigment cell differentiation and/or migration from the neural crest to skin, hair, or feathers during development. This results in either the entire surface (if all pigment cells fail to develop) or patches of body surface (if only a subset are defective) having a lack of cells capable of making pigment.
Since all pigment cell-types differentiate from the same multipotent precursor cell-type, leucism can cause the reduction in all types of pigment. This is in contrast to albinism, for which leucism is often mistaken. Albinism results in the reduction of melanin production only, though the melanocyte (or melanophore) is still present. Thus in species that have other pigment cell-types, for example xanthophores, albinos are not entirely white, but instead display a pale yellow colour.
More common than a complete absence of pigment cells is localized or incomplete hypopigmentation, resulting in irregular patches of white on an animal that otherwise has normal colouring and patterning. This partial leucism is known as a "pied" or "piebald" effect; and the ratio of white to normal-coloured skin can vary considerably not only between generations, but between different offspring from the same parents, and even between members of the same litter. This is notable in horses, cows, cats, dogs, the urban crow and the ball python but is also found in many other species.
A further difference between albinism and leucism is in eye colour. Due to the lack of melanin production in both the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) and iris, albinos typically have red eyes due to the underlying blood vessels showing through. In contrast, most leucistic animals have normally coloured eyes. This is because the melanocytes of the RPE are not derived from the neural crest, instead an outpouching of the neural tube generates the optic cup which, in turn, forms the retina. As these cells are from an independent developmental origin, they are typically unaffected by the genetic cause of leucism.
Wikipedia
Daybreak at the Roost
Sandhill Cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 9, 2015
The birds awoke to another misty dawn at their roost on the pond at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
The resident leucistic crane occasionally roosts here now. But not every night. Having an easily identifiable individual crane in residence at the Bosque has put to rest my presumption that individual Sandhill Crane family units have habitual routines which they seldom deviate from. Not so, it would appear. This bird and its mate are moving around the Refuge quite unpredictably from day to day and night to night.
Sandhill Crane, A Portrait in Motion
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 26, 2012
This crane was walking slowly over the rough frozen mud and ice at the edge of the pond and flexing its wings for balance at each ginger step much as I will flex my wings when walking barefoot over stony ground. I took a quick burst of shots and caught this as the crane was transferring its weight from one foot to the next. A bit of luck and some serious cropping got me to this neat portrait.
Untitled
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 24, 2014
This is taken from an image of Sandhill Cranes leaving their nightly roost at the ponds on a cold December morning. It was a crisp clear morning and the sun's early light was strongly reflected from the ice on the pond nicely lighting the underside of the birds. I love this image.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 24, 2014
Yeah, well, not really. This bird is actually just starting its morning takeoff run along the ice. Makes a nice title though...
Morning at the Roost
Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese at the Pond, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 22, 2014
On a good day this is the scene that greets us photographers lined up along the edge of the pond, waiting for the action to begin at sunrise.
Frosty Morning Flight
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 20, 2014
Try as I might, it seems the odds of my getting a shot of these birds good enough to post straight out of camera runs way over one-in-a-thousand. A sharp shot with good exposure and good composition of these birds in flight is tough to catch. I rarely get one I feel is good enough to post without some cropping, sharpening, and other enhancements. This is my favorite of the 873 I shot this morning.
The conditions this morning were exceptionally good. It was cold enough to freeze the pond overnight. The birds were flying out a little later than usual putting the sun a little higher above the horizon than usual when they fly out. A slight overcast to the sky softened the light just a tad too. Plus the birds were flying exceptionally low over the ice this morning (one even flew out so low over my head I ducked!), possibly because of stiff muscles and reduced lift or extra drag from the frost on their feathers. Or maybe they just felt like it.
It's such fun when things come together like this.
This morning I was shooting with my EF 200-400 f/4L IS USM EXT 1.4X lens on my new Canon 7D Mark II body. I just got this lens back from a repair at Canon CPS. Back in late October I managed to tip my tripod over onto concrete damaging the focussing assembly and group 4 lens assembly. That was not a good day but all is well now with my favorite birding lens! I've missed it. This shot was taken at 290mm, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1
Juvenile Sandhill Crane
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 15, 2014
I was lucky enough to catch a nice portrait of this juvenile Sandhill Crane at the roost on a frosty December morn.
Sandhill Crane, A Portrait
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 15, 2014
Who could ask for a better backdrop for a portrait than this feathery one?
Ready; Set; Go! a Triptych
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 15, 2014
Scram!!
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 11, 2014
Bloody photographers! Can’t you leave a guy alone? Buzz off!
Shadowed
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 28, 2014
Nice added touch.
Wake Up, Sleepy Head
Sandhill Crane at Sunrise, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 21, 2014
Cranes sleep with their heads tucked under their wings. This guy is just waking up. Some others can be seen fully tucked in in the background.
Sunrise at the Flight Deck
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 14, 2014
It’s not every morning the clouds are positioned to greet the sun so gloriously just as the Snow Geese are leaving for the day.
Bosque Sunrise
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 11, 2014
This is the grassy field in its fall colors that is the ponds before they are filled for the birds to use as a roost through the winter.
An Early Departure
Sandhill Crane Taking Off Before Sunrise, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
October 27, 2014
This guy was roosting here too but took off before I could get a shot. Next time I'll be ready.
Be My Valentine
Sandhill Cranes, Bernardo Wildlife Management Area, Bernardo NM
February 8, 2014
“I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.”
— Emily Dickinson
Time to Go
Sandhill Cranes Flying Out, Bernardo Wildlife Management Area, Bernardo NM
February 8, 2014
Spring can't be too far off - the snowbirds are leaving. It's gotten eerily quiet around here the last few days. Most of the cranes and snow geese wintering here have left for their northern breeding grounds. I only realized how accustomed I'd become to their constant chatter in the valley when it stopped. Now that I no longer feel compelled to be out taking their pictures, maybe I can get caught up on organizing and sorting the many thousands I took of them over the winter and get a few more posted here.
Dawn at the Roost
Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 14, 2013
An experiment in low light.
Windy
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio, NM
January 24, 2014
I think this portrait of a Sandhill Crane standing with its back to the wind worked out nicely with the bokeh from the out of focus farm field in the background.
Crane's in the Corn...
Sandhill Crane, Bernardo Wildlife Management Area, Bernardo NM
January 11, 2014
Catching an Early Flight
Sandhill Cranes leaving the pond, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 28, 2013
Sandhill Cranes flying out from their overnight roost on the ponds.
The Couple that Flaps Together...
Sandhill Cranes leaving the pond, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 27, 2013
Sandhill Cranes mate for life and live and travel in family units which generally include the couples' juvenile offspring when wintering here at the Bosque. They will often synchronize their wings in flight which can make for dramatic photo ops like this one.
The Running Start
Juvenile Sandhill Crane taking off from morning ice on the pond, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 24, 2013
This juvenile Sandhill Crane is getting a running start to take off from morning ice on the pond.
Sandhill Crane, A Portrait in Flight
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
December 14, 2013
I don’t do a lot of black and white photos but this image lent itself nicely to a black and white treatment with the dramatic light from a sun low in the sky. I like it.
Baby, That Water's COLD!
Sandhill Cranes on a Snowy Dawn, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 24, 2013
There’s a story here involving this picture, some lousy weather at the Festival of the Cranes at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio NM this year, the excellent EF 200-400mm f/4L USM Extender 1.4x Super Telephoto Lens the Canon rep so wisely urged me to try out, some luck on a cold icy morning at the ponds, a late entry in Canon’s event photo contest, and not least the effect of inserting something like a Canon Pixma Pro 1 printer into this fulltimer's paperless RV lifestyle.
Maybe I’ll tell it someday.
Expose Yourself to the Bosque
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM
November 5, 2013
There’s been a meme going around involving pictures of ostensibly nude individuals facing some wonderful touristy scene with their backs to the camera while dressed solely in an overcoat. This bird reminded me of that meme. Sorry.