{"id":105375,"date":"2022-08-24T03:58:25","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T09:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=105375"},"modified":"2022-08-24T03:58:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T09:58:25","slug":"sandhill-crane-portraits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/24\/sandhill-crane-portraits\/","title":{"rendered":"Sandhill Crane Portraits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SandhillSandhill Crane female portrait \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/6400, ISO 2000, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

While up in the mountains yesterday morning I was thrilled to take a series of female and male Sandhill Crane portraits as they fed in a pasture next to the road. I was in my Jeep using it as a mobile blind when I found the cranes. All I had to do was pull over, cut the engine and start photographing these wonderful, tall birds.<\/p>\n

The female Sandhill Crane was a little farther away from the road than the male and in taller grasses.<\/p>\n

This pair of cranes were not successful this breeding season because there were no young with them. On my way into the mountains I did see two adult sandhills with three colts that were almost as big as the adults near a water feature.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> My high ISO setting was because I had been photographing birds before the sun came over the mountains tops. Because of my excitement at being this close to the cranes I forgot to reset my ISO back to my default of 500.<\/p>\n

\"SandhillSandhill Crane male portrait \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/8000, ISO 2000, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This portrait shows the male Sandhill Crane. Sandhill Crane<\/span><\/a> males are slightly heavier and taller than the females of this species.<\/p>\n

While the head angle of the male crane in this photo isn’t the best I liked how the sunlight seemed to make his orange colored eye glow.<\/p>\n

I was both excited and delighted to be this close to this pair of Sandhill Cranes. After taking a few photos I left the cranes to forage for their breakfast and moved down the road.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Sandhill Crane photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While up in the mountains yesterday morning I was thrilled to take a series of female and male Sandhill Crane portraits as they fed in a pasture next to the road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":105352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,4594,450,26,773],"tags":[4004,4259,3940,4142,3823,3132,4070,3747,4109,4062,4069,5691,4046,4518,2315],"class_list":["post-105375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-morgan-county","category-sandhill-cranes","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-antigone-canadensis","tag-canyon","tag-close-up","tag-crane","tag-cranes","tag-female","tag-grass","tag-grasses","tag-male","tag-mountains","tag-pasture","tag-portrait","tag-sandhill-crane","tag-summer-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/sandhill-crane-adult-close-up-female-mia-mcpherson-7374.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-rpB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":104206,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/14\/solitary-sandhill-crane-foraging-in-a-pasture\/","url_meta":{"origin":105375,"position":0},"title":"Solitary Sandhill Crane Foraging In A Pasture","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I took this adult Sandhill Crane photo earlier this week as the crane foraged for food in a grassy horse pasture high up in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sandhill Crane foraging in a pasture, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sandhill-crane-adult-pasture-mia-mcpherson-5063.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sandhill-crane-adult-pasture-mia-mcpherson-5063.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sandhill-crane-adult-pasture-mia-mcpherson-5063.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sandhill-crane-adult-pasture-mia-mcpherson-5063.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115246,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/18\/kamas-valley-sandhill-crane-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":105375,"position":1},"title":"Kamas Valley Sandhill Crane Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, on the way to the Uinta Mountains, April Olson and I looked for birds in the Kamas Valley. That's where I took these Sandhill Crane photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Sandhill Crane in grassy field in Kamas Valley, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sandhill-crane-kamas-mia-mcpherson-8104.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sandhill-crane-kamas-mia-mcpherson-8104.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sandhill-crane-kamas-mia-mcpherson-8104.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sandhill-crane-kamas-mia-mcpherson-8104.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":152404,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/08\/17\/memories-of-sandhill-cranes-in-the-kamas-valley\/","url_meta":{"origin":105375,"position":2},"title":"Memories Of Sandhill Cranes In The Kamas Valley","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"On this day two years ago, April Olson rode with me to the Kamas Valley of Utah, where we photographed a flock of Sandhill Cranes getting ready for fall migration.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kamas Valley Sandhill Cranes getting ready for migration, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sandhill-cranes-pre-migration-kamas-mia-mcpherson-8053.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sandhill-cranes-pre-migration-kamas-mia-mcpherson-8053.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sandhill-cranes-pre-migration-kamas-mia-mcpherson-8053.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sandhill-cranes-pre-migration-kamas-mia-mcpherson-8053.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104687,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/01\/wasatch-mountain-range-sandhill-crane-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":105375,"position":3},"title":"Wasatch Mountain Range Sandhill Crane Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I spent ten minutes taking Sandhill Crane images high in the Wasatch Mountain Range after finding a pair of cranes next to an alpine creek.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Sandhill Crane changing direction, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sandhill-crane-stained-adult-mia-mcpherson-9634.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sandhill-crane-stained-adult-mia-mcpherson-9634.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sandhill-crane-stained-adult-mia-mcpherson-9634.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sandhill-crane-stained-adult-mia-mcpherson-9634.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":121870,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/25\/my-first-of-year-sandhill-crane\/","url_meta":{"origin":105375,"position":4},"title":"My First Of Year Sandhill Crane","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago, I heard and saw my first Sandhill Crane of the year. The calling crane was in flight, way off in the distance.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Long distance Sandhill Crane in flight, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sandhill-crane-long-distance-mia-mcpherson-8643.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sandhill-crane-long-distance-mia-mcpherson-8643.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sandhill-crane-long-distance-mia-mcpherson-8643.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sandhill-crane-long-distance-mia-mcpherson-8643.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110519,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/25\/migrating-sandhill-cranes-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":105375,"position":5},"title":"Migrating Sandhill Cranes On The Wing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I heard through the grapevine that Sandhill Cranes have returned to Farmington Bay WMA. Since the cranes are there they might be at other Utah locations too.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sandhill Crane calling in flight with snowy mountains behind it, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/sandhill-crane-spring-flight-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/sandhill-crane-spring-flight-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/sandhill-crane-spring-flight-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/sandhill-crane-spring-flight-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}