I managed to catch some migrating sandhill cranes for this #featheredfriday by @melinda010100
I heard loud chortling on a walk in the prairie and thought they may have landed somewhere in the grass.
But then I realized they were up in the sky instead.
There must have been hundreds in the air migrating from the north down to the south.
This was the closest I could zoom high up in the sky on them.
The only other birds I saw were some cold robins that weren't cooperating with my photoshoot.
Earlier this spring I found where they raise their young and was able to get close-up shots of them. Here is one of the parents.
Here are a couple of the babies learning how to hunt.
At this age they are looking for anything to eat from frogs to fish to insects and even rodents.
I'll have to keep an eye out this spring for their migration back north.
Happy New Year and Happy #featheredfriday :-)
I always enjoy seeing the cranes when they get here in the spring. I don't see them much in the summer, I think they disperse too much to see them very often.
Do they hang around in the marshes up there? I finally found the place where they raise their babies here.
I'm not sure where they go in the summer, I usually see them in the farm fields.
Probably all the way up to Canada. They probably hunt for worms after the farmers till the soil.
The first photo, against the backdrop of the moon, is especially epic! Great!👍
Thankfully they happened to be in the right place at the right time. The trick was trying to get my zoom lens to cooperate with nothing to autofocus on and no tripod.
The Sandhill pics are awesome! I hear them often when I am way up North, but have never been able to get very close...good job!
I used to live in Arizona where they would winter down in a sulphur springs area near Wilcox. Huge flocks of them would be eating brine shrimp in the shallow water making tons of noise.
They are so loud when there are that many in the air. We are lucky to be on their migration route. Your photos are wonderful!
Nice photos! I have seen them on Manitoulin Island in the summer.
I wonder if they raise their young there or if they are just stopping by?
They spend the summer there.
Aha I bet you can see them raise their young over there.
After seeing your photos, it's worth a try!
They are pretty easy to get photos when they are with their young as they don't try and fly away.