{"id":110519,"date":"2023-02-25T05:40:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-25T12:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=110519"},"modified":"2023-02-25T15:39:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-25T22:39:53","slug":"migrating-sandhill-cranes-on-the-wing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/25\/migrating-sandhill-cranes-on-the-wing\/","title":{"rendered":"Migrating Sandhill Cranes On The Wing"},"content":{"rendered":"

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. I am so freaking excited I can barely sit still.<\/p>\n

\"LateLate winter Sandhill Cranes at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year I heard Sandhill Cranes a couple times in January. The first Sandhill Cranes I saw and photographed were at Bear River MBR on February 10th. The pair of cranes were standing on the edge of the auto tour loop. Even though they weren’t close to me I stopped and took photos of the cranes. I remember feeling a rush of joy that made my whole body vibrate.<\/p>\n

At first the cranes were silent but they started calling<\/span><\/a> just before they lifted off. Their calls reached deep inside of me and my heart rate sped up. There is something about the call of these Sandhill Cranes and those of Tundra Swans that makes me feel more alive and connects me to the natural world like no other bird song. It is hard to describe in words what their calls do to me. I do love feeling it though!<\/p>\n

\"SandhillSandhill Crane calling in flight with snowy mountains behind it \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I can hardly wait until I see my first of year Sandhill Cranes in the field. If I get photos of them that will be a bonus but simply seeing them after this long winter will bring me so much happiness. I’m a fairly simple woman and sometimes the smallest things bring me the most pleasure. The call of these cranes? It’s one of those pleasures that I treasure with every fiber of my being.<\/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":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":110513,"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":[124,27,1148,450,26],"tags":[4004,4259,4072,3823,3132,4052,4122,7926,4094,2138,4069,2139,4518,4328,4095,373],"class_list":["post-110519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-sandhill-cranes","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-antigone-canadensis","tag-calling","tag-crane","tag-cranes","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-late","tag-marsh","tag-mates","tag-mountains","tag-pair","tag-sandhill-crane","tag-snowy","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/sandhill-crane-spring-flight-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-sKz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":80115,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/03\/02\/ten-sandhill-cranes-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":110519,"position":0},"title":"Ten Sandhill Cranes At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It was the highlight of my morning to find, observe, listen to, and photograph ten Sandhill Cranes at Bear River MBR yesterday.","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":"Three Sandhill Cranes displaying in the marsh at Bear River MBR, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/sandhill-cranes-dancing-mia-mcpherson-5282.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/sandhill-cranes-dancing-mia-mcpherson-5282.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Sandhill Crane in flight in front of spring storm clouds, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/sandhill-crane-in-flight-wayne-county-mia-mcpherson-6304.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/sandhill-crane-in-flight-wayne-county-mia-mcpherson-6304.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/sandhill-crane-in-flight-wayne-county-mia-mcpherson-6304.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/sandhill-crane-in-flight-wayne-county-mia-mcpherson-6304.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-male-looking-up-mia-mcpherson-5760.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-male-looking-up-mia-mcpherson-5760.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-male-looking-up-mia-mcpherson-5760.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-male-looking-up-mia-mcpherson-5760.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":111112,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/13\/communing-with-sandhill-cranes\/","url_meta":{"origin":110519,"position":3},"title":"Communing With Sandhill Cranes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been thinking a lot about Sandhill Cranes recently so I am going back in time to nine years ago today when I photographed them in Wayne County, Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Bicknell Bottoms Wildlife Management Area"","block_context":{"text":"Bicknell Bottoms Wildlife Management Area","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bicknell-bottoms-wildlife-management-area\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sandhill Cranes dancing in a farmer's field, Bicknell Bottoms, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/sandhill-cranes-spring-wayne-county-mia-mcpherson-5057.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/sandhill-cranes-spring-wayne-county-mia-mcpherson-5057.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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