Blog Archives
Juvenile Trumpeter Swan
Friends, Early in the morning we went to see the sunrise in Crex Meadows and watch the Sandhill Cranes lift off their roost site and fly off to the fields. But this Trumpeter Swan family stole the show. This cygnet has juvenile gray feathers with a striking pink bill and sorry about the adult in the background, serves as a nice contrast to show off the adult vs young coloring. Next Spring they will all be white with black bills. til Tomorrow MJ
Sunrise Crane
Friends, this Sandhill Crane has recently landed in Crex Meadows in Northwestern Wisconsin. About 12,000 birds will gather here before their migration southward. In the early morning, starting at sunrise, they fly off their roost site and go out to the fields. A test of my new lens while panning the birds shows the sharpness, a vast improvement over my old lens. til Tomorrow MJ
No April Foolin
Friends, on April 1st we saw some Sandhill Cranes in Crex and they look great after being absent for the last four months. But this morning, we had 14 inches of new snow on the ground, hope they can find enough to eat. This boy was turning to see if he could see what was making that strange clicking noise (my camera) so his eye was very sharp and although i have thousands of images of cranes, i always thrill at seeing them for the first time in the spring, til Tomorrow MJ
Back to Work
Friends, i have been busily reviewing my images from 2013 to compile a bird list for my records, i stumbled on this image of a whooping crane that arrived this fall with the sandhill cranes. She is female 10-10 and was hatched and raised in a facility in southern Wisconsin, she was taught to migrate behind an ultralight aircraft and then set free. In this image, the Sandhills were trying to persuade her to dance with them, she tried, til Tomorrow MJ
One More Whooper
Friends, normally i don’t use this type of image in my blog, but this is a rare bird and a rare opportunity to share with you. This image was taken against the light and at a distance too far for my tele, but photoshop helped the situation so the leg band colors could be seen and recorded for posterity. Sorry but i couldn’t resist showing one more Whooper image, til Tomorrow MJ
Another Thrill
Friends, Jim and i went crane hunting again today to see if we could find the Whooping Crane among the hundreds of Sandhill Cranes, I showed an image yesterday of the large flock with a distant white bird. Today we surveyed the fields and found her again, among the Sandhills. She walked up and down and finally took off, she flew into the sun, but i stayed focused as the small group circled, turned , came right at us and passed directly overhead. I guess my practice at Hawk Ridge and the flying cranes at Crex, paid off, as i was able to capture her in flight. I know, i know, you want the wings fully extended either up or down, sorry you get what you get, it was a beautiful day to share with my honey. til Tomorrow MJ
What a thrill!!
Friends, these Greater Sandhill cranes are gathering on the Trade River for their last hurrah before going south. But surprise, one of these birds is not a sandhill, but is a rarely seen Whooping Crane. The big white one in the top of the image whose head markings are a little different than the Sandhills. They are very white and larger than the sandhills. These birds are extremely rare and are now bred in captivity then taught to fly using an ultralight aircraft at Naceedah Wildlife Refuge, then they are released into the wild. Occasionally we see one who is migrating on his own with the Sandhills, it is a very rare sighting. Sorry for the poor image, but i was stretching my telephoto. Thanks Kim for the tip and Jim for the company. til Tomorrow MJ
Crane Overhead
Friends, this Greater Sandhill Crane is taking flight at sunrise. In Crex Meadows, the cranes come into Main Dike at sunset and roost for the night. People also come by the dozens to watch the nightly display. In the morning, the cranes are noisy on the roost and all talking at once just before they take off and go back to the fields to spend their day. They usually fly in large flocks or smaller family groups and this single crane was actually part of a larger group. As they passed overhead, I was able to isolate a single crane in flight. til Tomorrow MJ
Coming Soon Migration
Friends, soon this will be a common sight in Crex, the Sandhill Cranes flying in to join the larger flocks. They will dance and celebrate the end of summer, the arrival of the fall foliage and the migration of other birds, ducks, hawks, swans and passerines. They will all fly away to the south and leave me here,calling in the darkness of winter, longing for their return. But for now, time to get busy. til Tomorrow MJ
Dancing Lessons
Friends, did your mother teach you to dance, probably not. I learned from a friend, but in the crane world, the adults teach the dancing skills. The youngster on the left is learning from the two dancing in the middle how to celebrate life and rejoice. So for today, dance and teach your children. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 