{"id":15842,"date":"2014-09-16T05:31:40","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T11:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15842"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:11:49","slug":"a-pair-of-sandhill-cranes-in-the-centennial-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/16\/a-pair-of-sandhill-cranes-in-the-centennial-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"Pair of Sandhill Cranes in the Centennial Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was delighted to find quite a few Sandhill Cranes in the Centennial Valley of Montana\u00a0last week and this pair was close enough to photograph.<\/p>\n

\"MatedMated pair of Sandhill Cranes – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The male is nearly finished molting and has become mostly gray compared to the reddish color they have during breeding season when they stain their feathers<\/a><\/span> with soil.<\/p>\n

\"CallingCalling male Sandhill Crane – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

During my time in the Centennial Valley\u00a0I saw several flocks ranging from 10 to 26 individuals.<\/p>\n

It is nearing the time when the Sandhill Cranes will migrate south for the winter and perhaps this pair will pass through Utah on their way to their wintering grounds.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Sandhill Crane\u00a0– Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The female appeared more stained than the male but she is no where near as red as she would have been even a month ago. I was disappointed that this pair did not have young with them, they may have lost their chicks due to a cold snap\u00a0during the incubation period or lost the chicks to predation.<\/p>\n

Young sandhills generally stay with their parent for around 328 days and if this pair’s young had survived they would have been nearby.<\/p>\n

\"SandhillSandhill Crane pair calling\u00a0– Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This image shows the difference in the cranes stained plumage well I think though I am not sure why the female shows more of the reddish stain than the male.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Sandhill Crane behavior\u00a0– Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The male did some dancing, jumping and calling while I photographed him. I am not sure though if that was because of our presence or if it was to maintain the pair bond.<\/p>\n

\"DancingDancing male Sandhill Crane\u00a0– Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have never been to the Centennial Valley of Montana where I didn’t see or hear Sandhill Cranes and\u00a0for me it would be very strange to be in the valley when the cranes aren’t there.<\/p>\n

Any day now though they will leave the valley until early next spring when their calls will once again trumpet in the valley.<\/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 was delighted to find quite a few Sandhill Cranes in the Centennial Valley of Montana last week and this pair was close enough to photograph.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1513,27,223,12,608,450],"tags":[4004,4259,4072,3823,3132,4187,779,4070,1124,4109,4062,2240,2313,2139,2662,4057,4518,2315,5434,4095],"class_list":["post-15842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-montana","category-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","category-sandhill-cranes","tag-adult","tag-antigone-canadensis","tag-calling","tag-crane","tag-cranes","tag-dancing-2","tag-displaying","tag-female","tag-field","tag-grasses","tag-male","tag-mated-pair","tag-molting","tag-pair","tag-pair-bond","tag-sagebrush","tag-sandhill-crane","tag-summer-3","tag-valley","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-pair-mia-mcpherson-6125.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-47w","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40422,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/07\/09\/new-genus-for-sandhill-cranes\/","url_meta":{"origin":15842,"position":0},"title":"New Genus for Sandhill Cranes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Another change that has officially occurred was that Sandhill Cranes were moved from the genus Grus to Antigone.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mated pair of Sandhill Cranes in flight, Bicknell Bottoms Wildlife Management Area, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/sandhill-cranes-flight-bicknell-mia-mcpherson-6669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/sandhill-cranes-flight-bicknell-mia-mcpherson-6669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/sandhill-cranes-flight-bicknell-mia-mcpherson-6669.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/sandhill-cranes-flight-bicknell-mia-mcpherson-6669.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65625,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/02\/26\/my-first-of-year-sandhill-crane-sightings\/","url_meta":{"origin":15842,"position":1},"title":"My First Of Year Sandhill Crane Sightings","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I was delighted to hear the Sandhill Cranes calling yesterday. Their bugling calls touch me and remind me that I am every bit a part of nature as the cranes are.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sandhill Crane and wildflowers, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-wildflowers-wet-meadow-mia-mcpherson-5317.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-wildflowers-wet-meadow-mia-mcpherson-5317.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-wildflowers-wet-meadow-mia-mcpherson-5317.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-wildflowers-wet-meadow-mia-mcpherson-5317.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19197,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/01\/29\/dreaming-of-sandhill-cranes\/","url_meta":{"origin":15842,"position":2},"title":"Dreaming of Sandhill Cranes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night I only had dreams about Sandhill Cranes but it won't be long before I will be seeing and hearing them for real. I can barely wait.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calling male Sandhill Crane, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-calling-mia-mcpherson-6147.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-calling-mia-mcpherson-6147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-calling-mia-mcpherson-6147.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-calling-mia-mcpherson-6147.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-flowers-mia-mcpherson-5322.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-flowers-mia-mcpherson-5322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-flowers-mia-mcpherson-5322.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-flowers-mia-mcpherson-5322.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94479,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/09\/05\/was-the-killing-of-bob-the-sandhill-crane-really-necessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":15842,"position":4},"title":"Was the Killing Of Bob The Sandhill Crane Really Necessary?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the other things that made me upset with Bob the Sandhill Crane being killed is that this could have been prevented.","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":"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, 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