Joel Dinda's photos with the keyword: sandhill cranes

Overhead. Directly overhead.

Sandhill Cranes against the sky, at Michigan Audubon's Baker Sanctuary. I'm pleased with the composition on this one, but am unhappy with the detail. Once again I was using the Nikon V2 and the 300 mm lens, but still wasn't nailing the focus. Still learnin'. Things will eventually sort out, I expect.

South of Delton, Michigan. About a month ago I found dozens of cranes in this field ; today there were but three. And a reminder: The Baker Sanctuary Crane Fest is this weekend. We'll be there on Sunday.

In memory of Gary Masemore ( cminer52 on Flickr ), a far better bird photographer than I am. Gonna miss y', guy.

South of Delton, Michigan. Actually there were more like a hundred cranes in this field. Autumn's coming, and the flocks are gathering....

Another photo from our recent visit to the Maple River State Game Area. As I've said, most of the birds near the paths were sandpipers. But there were water birds where there was water, and my long lens was able to get some photographs.... Near dead center in this photograph is some other bird. Anyone want to ID it for me?

Just south of Delton.

Last in this set. Even more fun than the overhead groups, I think, are the remarkable crowds of wading birds who settle in at Big Marsh Lake during October evenings. Compare my similar photo from five years ago for some hint about how the population arriving at the Baker Sanctuary has increased over the years. This photo used the same lens, though it's now attached to a more able camera. The evening bird population seems to have at least doubled over the half-decade. Really quite delightful. The birds will return to the Sanctuary next fall. So will I.

Sandhill Cranes arriving at Big Marsh Lake, near Bellevue, Michigan. Yes, we went back tonight. And yes, it really was like this for a time. Absolutely wonderful. Better, but less populated, pix coming over the next few days.

There's always an element of luck with photography. That Gary (cminer52) was able to capture hundreds of sandhills in an overhead shot was partly good planning--he knew where to get the photo--but he still needed the cooperation of the cranes to make the shot. We were seeing similar numbers of birds at Big Marsh Lake, but only a few were directly overhead and my massed-grouping photos showed them coming in across the lake . Different perspectives, and different locations, but both photos show the main action. Not that I lacked for overhead-shot opportunities, as this photo shows. But to duplicate Gary's shot I'd have needed to be standing somewhere else.

Sandhills look so awkward when they're landing....

This weekend the Michigan Audubon Society and Battle Creek Kiwanis are hosting Crane Fest at Baker Sanctuary, near Bellevue, Michigan. Thousands of Sandhill Cranes gather at Big Marsh Lake every evening in October. Well worth your evening. What my camera cannot capture is the glorious racket these large birds make. Absolutely incredible. Shot from the Kiwanis Youth Area , which will be open from 4 to 7 every Saturday and Sunday in October. If you can't make the festival, you can still see the spectacle. Go. You'll enjoy!

Big Marsh Lake, from the Kiwanis Youth Area , near Bellevue, Michigan. Besides the obvious birds, there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of cranes wading in the marsh within the frame of this photograph.

Imagine, if you will, hundreds of four-foot-tall birds all landing at the same lake on a perfect October evening. This photo will help. Since we missed the 2003 Crane Fest, we spent this evening at Big Marsh Lake and watched the cranes come in with perhaps a hundred other mid-Michigan bird watchers. It was wonderful. If you live anywhere near where these birds congregate, I urge you to spend an evening with Sandhill Cranes. The sights are sublime; the sounds are incredible. Camera: Nikon N90s