14 December 2011

Crane Time...NEW MEXICO (16 Nov)



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Well aside from thousands of Snow Geese to photograph, there is one very tall other reason to visit Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge: Cranes. Nearly twenty thousand cranes regularly winter in this scenic refuge, which manages the land for them, and provides a stunning setting in which to shoot them... I arrived late afternoon and got ready for the spectacle of thousands of Sandhill Cranes dropping in, while a peachy sun drops down behind them, creating remarkable scenes for photography. My few days on site (due to guiding commitments elsewhere) was nowhere near enough time to find all the best angles and photograph them. But here were some of my first attempts anyway...I MUST go back!

More to come from Bosque, where the most spectacular scenes were yet to come...

3 comments:

theconstantwalker said...

Beautiful images to see...

john said...

Are there any Whooping Cranes left? There were two on my visit years ago. Did you get to see the Crissal Thrashers?

Sam Woods said...

I just had a really flying visit John, (2 days total), and I did not get the Crissal Thrashers, just the Curve-billed Thrashers I am afraid. As far I knew at the time no Whooping Cranes were being seen unfortunately at the time. Did make s side trip for a brief look at some Black Rosy-Finches at Sandia Crest though-to come on blog soon!