{"id":121870,"date":"2024-02-25T04:02:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-25T11:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=121870"},"modified":"2024-02-25T04:02:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T11:02:29","slug":"my-first-of-year-sandhill-crane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/25\/my-first-of-year-sandhill-crane\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Of Year Sandhill Crane"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

I didn’t care; I simply had to take a photo of the crane. I’ve missed these long-legged birds and their calls so much.<\/p>\n

\"LongLong distance Sandhill Crane in flight \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The trumpeting calls of Sandhill Cranes both comfort and excite me. The calls comfort me because these cranes have been making their migrations for eons. The cranes are dependable. The calls also excite me because I adore these big birds!<\/p>\n

When I took a short series of photos of the calling Sandhill Crane in flight from such a long distance, I thought I probably wouldn’t like the images much.<\/p>\n

I surprised myself because I truly enjoyed this photo of the crane when I saw it on my screen at home. To take this image, I had to turn my body in my Jeep to the south, and I was focused on getting the crane sharp. The mountains behind the crane weren’t even in my thoughts.<\/p>\n

Having the Oquirrh Mountains behind the flying crane delighted me. That day was clear enough that the slopes of the mountains were visible. Even a few of the benches of old Lake Bonneville<\/span><\/a> were easy to see.<\/p>\n

Sure, it would have been nice if the crane had been closer. The thing is, the habitat in this photo speaks clearly to me even with the crane being small in the frame.<\/p>\n

Now? I can barely wait to see the Sandhill Cranes dancing and trumpeting in the field. I am thrilled that they are back.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121867,"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":[27,1022,697,450,26],"tags":[4004,4259,3823,3132,788,4052,4122,6619,4094,4069,5528,4518,4043,4095,373],"class_list":["post-121870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-sandhill-cranes","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-antigone-canadensis","tag-crane","tag-cranes","tag-first-of-year","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-long-distance","tag-marsh","tag-mountains","tag-oquirrh-mountains","tag-sandhill-crane","tag-small-in-frame","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sandhill-crane-long-distance-mia-mcpherson-8643.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-vHE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":110519,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/25\/migrating-sandhill-cranes-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":121870,"position":0},"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":[]},{"id":104687,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/01\/wasatch-mountain-range-sandhill-crane-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":121870,"position":1},"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":105375,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/24\/sandhill-crane-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":121870,"position":2},"title":"Sandhill Crane Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sandhill Crane female portrait, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/sandhill-crane-adult-close-up-female-mia-mcpherson-7374.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/sandhill-crane-adult-close-up-female-mia-mcpherson-7374.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/sandhill-crane-adult-close-up-female-mia-mcpherson-7374.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/sandhill-crane-adult-close-up-female-mia-mcpherson-7374.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":121870,"position":3},"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 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Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago, I was lucky enough to photograph an uncommon visitor to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge\u2014an immature Sandhill Crane I spotted in a field.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Sandhill Crane at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4808.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-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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