One of the very best ways to begin a morning.
When I visit Bear River MBR I always try to arrive at sunrise so I often hear Sandhill Cranes calling but they’re usually so far away I can’t even see them, much less get them in my viewfinder.
1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
But two days ago I had better luck. Only a few minutes after sunrise I found these two cranes feeding in the marsh in good light and at a good distance for photographing two very large birds.
For the first few minutes they were calm in my presence but after a while they both began to call. I don’t know if I was making them nervous or they just felt like making their “beautiful noise” but whatever their motivation, I enjoyed the hell out of it. For me, calling Sandhill Cranes in very early morning is one of the elixirs of life.
I was prepared to get flight shots if they took off but they had other plans. They walked slowly toward the phrags in the background and disappeared in them. And I drove off a happy photographer with the penetrating, rattling calls of Sandhill Cranes ringing in my ears.
Ron
Autor Ron Dudley
