Friends, i had to be creative today and do some artwork on photos that i took on Thursday. Cranes Flying and the moon rising were just too tempting to leave as is, so here is my rendition that depicts the crane spirits moving into winter across the harvest moon. God gave me photoshop, so i sometimes use it to express my feelings. til Tomorrow MJ
Blog Archives
A Tight V
Friends, first , thanks for all the birthday wishes. i had a great day. Jim and I went to Crex for dawn and watched the cranes leave their roost site in the morning. This image was taken the night before when the cranes were coasting into their roost site. Three natural history facts are in this photo, cranes fly in a v formation, they coast before landing and they talk to the birds below to warn them of their landing. so til Tomorrow MJ
Artwork
Wing Beats
Friends, i know i do this same image every year and sometimes several times a year, but the takeoff and landing of cranes on their roost site is still a wonder to me. The air from their wingbeats causes a rush of joy as they pass over my head, sometimes so close you feel you could touch those feathers. Crex Meadows this time of year is a paradise for photographers who love nature. 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
Cranes are gone
Friends, the Sandhills have left the building, we have received about 18 inches of snow and the cranes found it a bit too much. i wish i could go with them, but need to stay where i am for the time being. This immature crane is leading the way for the adult with oak leaves in the background. enjoy, 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
MJ Springett 