March Madness
It happens every March. Sure, the NCAA college basketball tournaments occur every year, but so does my love affair. Ten years ago, this month. That’s when it all started. And I admit – I’m still in love! No, this isn’t a tawdry diary entry – it’s about a bird I love called the Sandhill Crane. (Click on any image below to enlarge)
Above - Sandhill Cranes have an earnest discussion
It started when I kept reading articles about these ostrich-looking birds that are often described as being simultaneously elegant and awkward. This particular flock of over 20,000 birds migrates every late winter through the San Luis Valley of Colorado on their way from northern New Mexico to Yellowstone National Park (and back in the fall). They stay for about 6-8 weeks to rest, stock up on food, and sometimes even to find a mate for breeding up north if they are currently eligible for The Bachelor/Bachelorette.
Above - I call this image Three Heads are Better Than One
Below - Three images of Sandhill Carnes in flight
I had no idea what I was doing back then. My gear was inadequate for photographing birds nor did I know exactly where to find them. I had identified their location as the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge, so I figured how hard could it be, not realizing the refuge encompassed 15,000 acres that is crisscrossed by gravel roads that occasionally just dead-end. There are no trails in the refuge to speak of and for the most part it is all wisely closed off to the public except for the roads and car pull-outs.
Above - a simultaneous massive liftoff of Sandhill Cranes makes for an awe-inspiring moment
On my first day there I never once saw a Sandhill Crane. Annoyed, I called the Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce the next day to complain about the lack of the “advertised” birds. Fortunately, they didn’t hang up on me and instead explained that the birds move around the Refuge and aren’t necessarily in the same location on consecutive days. But they did give me directions to the last known “hotspot” within the Refuge, so I went back later and this time it worked! It was truly awe-inspiring. The sight and equally unique sound of waves of “squadrons” of these beauties flying overhead to a central location for the night truly moved me.
Above - Sandhill Cranes seem to parachute out of the sky
I have returned almost every year since, each time with more knowledge about these singular creatures as well as with better equipment like my 700mm lens. The “Holy Grail” of Sandhill Crane photos is to capture them in their extremely ritualistic courtship dance. Two “available” cranes alternately begin bobbing their heads, squawking, fluffing their feathers, and jumping as high as they can, all to impress a potential lifetime mate. And if they’re really good, they snatch a nearby stick and throw it up into the air. After all, who can resist the old stick-in-the-air trick? Of course, now we just make sure it has a rose on the end of it (hey, that’s TWO references to The Bachelor, a show I’ve never even seen!).
Above - images of Sandhill Cranes performing various parts of the courtship rituals
It's not just the birds that strike awe in me. The surrounding peaks of both the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountain ranges can’t be beat for early morning sunrise/moonset or the colorful palettes of its sunsets.
Above - Sandhill Cranes fly past the setting moon over the San Juan Mountains at dawn
Above- Blanca Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains looms large to the east at sunset
Above - A spectacular sunset catches fire over the San Juan Mountains to the west
I just returned there earlier this month and it never gets old. In fact, I’m reminded of a lesson I learned that very first day I ever saw them. I was standing near a professional photographer capturing their every move when I saw him put his camera down and stop taking pictures. I assumed something was wrong with his camera - dead battery or full memory card, perhaps? So I went over to offer anything I could give him. He thanked me but said, no, his favorite part of photographing the cranes was to end by putting his camera down and watch/listen to them and take “brain photos” for his memory bank to call up later. I never forgot that lesson and indeed each time back since I have practiced that.
Above - Sandhill Cranes fly away in the early morning mist so I must patiently await next year’s March Madness