Joel Dinda's photos with the keyword: Sandhill

Big Marsh Lake, near Bellevue, Michigan.

This is what we came to see. As evening falls we watch cranes flying in from all directions. After a few circles around Big Marsh Lake, each flight lands. And another flight joins the fun, circling the lake in its turn.

The viewing area at Kiwanis Youth Conservation Area, looking towards Big Marsh Lake. The Sandhills gather at Big Marsh every evening in the fall, gathering before migrating south. Audubon does a headcount at the lake every November; in 2014 that count was about 9,400 birds . The late October and early November weekend viewings are jointly sponsored by Battle Creek Kiwanis and Michigan Audubon. The viewings are related to, but not a part of, Michigan Audubon's CraneFest, which occurs at the same location in mid-October.

Some of 'em flew right over our heads.

Near Bellevue, Michigan.

Michigan Audubon's Crane Festival 's this weekend, and as usual we'll be attending this afternoon. But we got a preview of sorts late yesterday when this rather raucous flock passed by. I had the new pocket camera in hand, so I pointed it skyward to capture this less-than-ideal photo. I'll take my Oly E-M1 and its teleconverter to the Big Marsh today, and expect better pix. But this one's kinda fun.

One last shot of the cranes, for now, with a reminder that Michigan Audubon's Cranefest occurs on the second weekend in October, at Big Marsh Lake near Bellevue, Michigan. Put it on you calendar; it's wonderful.

10/9/2010, during Cranefest at Big Marsh Lake.

At Big Marsh Lake from the Kiwanis Youth Conservation Area, near Bellevue, on 10/22/2005. Hundreds of cranes have already landed in the marsh; some can be seen in this photo (though not well; they're mostly along those broken trees). Michigan Audubon's Cranefest occurs at Big Marsh early every October, but Audubon and Kiwanis open the viewing area on weekends throughout the month.

Same trip to Big Marsh Lake: 10/30/2010.

10/30/2010 (again).

10/30/2010.

From Kiwanis Youth Area near Bellevue, Michigan. Photo taken during Michigan Audubon's CraneFest in October of 2004 with my Nikon N90s. Scanned from a negative.

Still sorting through old photographs. This one's from 2005. What this photo doesn't capture is the incredible sound all these large birds make.

Another photo found while sorting through my archive--though this one's not particularly old, as I took it last October. I'd purchased Nikon's FT-1 adapter for my Nikon 1 with the explicit intention of attaching my 300 mm lens to the little camera. Since the multiplier's 2.7, a 300 mm on the V2 is equivalent to an 810 mm lens on a full-frame (D)SLR. The obvious application for such a setup is photographing wildlife. But really you need to practice to use the gear well, and circumstances had prevented that. So I found myself at Michigan Audubon's Baker Sanctuary CraneFest without adequate preparation--and with a shaky tripod. All in all, a bad photographic experience, though as always we enjoyed the festival. Saturday was the first time I'd looked seriously at the resulting pix; they were quite as bad as I suspected. I've since repaired the tripod, by the way....

Michigan Audubon 's Baker Sanctuary 's Big Marsh Lake , taken downhill from the pavilion (or whatever y' call it) at Kiwanis Youth Area, near Bellevue. If you look closely, you'll find Sandhill Cranes in the sky, geese and ducks in the water, and perhaps a couple swans. Don't think there are any cormorants or small birds in this picture, but they show up. We've even seen eagles. Approximately the same view: 2003 , 2005 , & 2006 . I certainly have others from my film days....