Heads Up

Two Sandhill Cranes are up to the necks in wheat. This wheat field is in southern Door County, Wisconsin.

Sandhill cranes have always presented a challenge for me. They seem to be very shy and quick to take off when I try to get close. These two required a creative, persistent approach. Here’s how it happened.

Sara, my wife, and I were on a weekend getaway in Door County. We were heading to Peninsula State Park for a day of hiking through the woods. On the way Sara spotted these guys in a wheat field that we passed. We decided to go back an try to get a shot. I pulled over and we switched positions, so Sara was driving and I was free to take the photos. The plan was to approach the field at a relatively slow speed…but not too slow, so the birds wouldn’t get spooked.  I would try to focus in and snap a few frames before they caught on and disappeared.

The first pass was a resounding failure.  The movement made it hard to find and focus on the birds with my zoom lens and my exposure settings were way off.  We turned around and tried it again. This time I had the right exposure but the birds sensed something was up and were on the move. Their heads were bobbing up and down in the field, always in a different spot than the last.  Sara remarked, it reminded her of a Whack-A-Mole game.

We approached slower and even stopped as the birds headed for the brush at the edge of the field.  Before they really took off, I got a couple of decent shots.  There were actually 4 or 5 of them in the field, but with their concealed movement and head bobbing, I was never able to catch more than three in any shot.  This is the one I liked best.

To get a better, more detailed view, click on the image.