Sandhill cranes

Click the pics quietly so you don't scare the birds away.

Today's pictures were taken about 12 years ago when I was in the Bosque Del Apache near Socorro New Mexico. These are Sandhill cranes that I took pictures of at the Bosque and want to take pictures of in Colorado. My camera was pretty pitiful back then so I'm hoping I can get better pictures this time. As we hobby picture snappers all know, skill has nothing to do with it... its all about the equipment.

I've pretty much made up my mind to take a mini-vacation around the middle of  October. I think I will head for the Alamosa area of southern Colorado to take pictures of the Sandhill Cranes that stop there on their annual migration to Miami Florida, where they spend the winter on Miami Beach trying to blend in with the Flamingos.

That gives me about a month to get the little Bronco camper ready for a late Fall mini-vacation. Late Fall in Colorado is very similar to winter in many other places. So I will have to dig out all of the thermal underwear and wool socks I have left after getting rid of almost all of my winter stuff when I sold my house and officially became a full-timer.

I am by no means a bird expert; I know as much about birds as I do about flowers, which is practically nothing. I have been to wildlife refuges before, such as the Bosque Del Apache in New Mexico. Because, at certain times of the year, the bird situation is so spectacular, they attract even non-birdwatching people, such as myself, just to take pictures of whatever birds are congregated there. And from those few experiences, I have learned that the best times to take photos of the birds is to be there early in the morning when  the sun comes up, or late in the afternoon when they come back to roost. And those two times of day are usually God-awful, foot-stomping, can't feel your fingers, icicles hanging off your mustache, bitter cold times of the day in the places where I'm at.

Now I don't know how many people go to southern Colorado to see the Cranes in the Fall, because the little towns in that area hold their Crane festivals in March, which is when the Cranes fly back from Miami Beach where their all sunburned and pink looking a lot like a Flamingo. So Fall might not be too crowded.

But If you go to the Bosque Del Apache in the winter when the Snow Geese take over the area. There are so many professional photographers from all over the world at the main Lake when the sun comes up, in less you get there early, very early, there's no place left to set up a tripod. And it's so cold waiting for the sun to come up that the professional photographers sit in their warm cars near the Lake. While their assistant, yes, they have an assistant, set up the equipment at the Lake and hold their place until the sun starts to come up, which is the cue for tens of thousands of Snow Geese to take off and leave the Lake at the same time. It's pretty spectacular to watch, I almost forgot to take the picture.

                              theboondork

A vast herd of Snow Geese on the main Lake at Bosque Del Apache New Mexico.

A line of snow geese crossing the cloudless blue sky in New Mexico. The line was probably a quarter of a mile long I just didn't have the skills or the equipment to capture it.

Sandhill Cranes landing on the lake to roost for the night.

Flaps down, landing gear down and locked. The tower has him on approach and vectored to the lake.

This is the sight everyone comes to Bosque Del Apache for. Its called "the lift off", when 20,000 snow geese all take off at the same time. It's a spectacular sight and sound, and for a brief minute you forget you can't feel your face, and your finger is frozen to the shutter button.

After a night of rest the Snow Geese are headed out to the open fields in search of food. How would you like to be a Grasshopper seeing this coming at you?