{"id":45474,"date":"2017-03-11T05:49:07","date_gmt":"2017-03-11T12:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=45474"},"modified":"2025-02-25T11:12:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T17:12:42","slug":"i-adore-sandhill-cranes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/03\/11\/i-adore-sandhill-cranes\/","title":{"rendered":"I Adore Sandhill Cranes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TwoTwo Sandhill Cranes circling to land – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn motionless wing they emerge from the lifting mists, sweep a final arc of sky, and settle in clangorous descending spirals to their feeding grounds. A new day has begun on the crane marsh.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

– Aldo Leopold<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though I can’t see them with my eyes as I write this I can imagine Sandhill Cranes waiting for the first rays of the sun to reach the marshes where they spent the night.<\/p>\n

\"SandhillSandhill Crane braking for landing – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the sun fully rises the cranes awake in the chill of the dawn and they begin to call. Their bugling calls are answered by other cranes and those calls can be heard for miles if you listen for them.<\/p>\n

\"PairPair of Sandhill Cranes on a stubble field – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

They take flight, calling as their wings lift them above the marshes, calling while they fly to their morning feeding grounds and calling as they land. Their calls are the call of the wild to me and always will be.<\/p>\n

\"ThreeThree Sandhill Cranes in morning flight – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As the cranes on the ground start to feed more calls can be heard overhead as swoop after swoop of cranes announce their impending arrival to the feeding grounds. They land, they call, they dance and they feed.<\/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":"

Even though I can’t see them with my eyes as I write this I can imagine Sandhill Cranes waiting for the first rays of the sun to reach the marshes where they spent the night. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140873,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5270,27,450,26,2486],"tags":[4051,2654,4259,5710,4072,4101,3823,3132,11563,5711,4052,4122,4123,4518,4949,4018,373],"class_list":["post-45474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bicknell-bottoms-wildlife-management-area","category-avian","category-sandhill-cranes","category-utah","category-wayne-county","tag-adults","tag-aldo-leopold","tag-antigone-canadensis","tag-bugling","tag-calling","tag-clouds","tag-crane","tag-cranes","tag-farmlands","tag-feeding-grounds","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-landing","tag-sandhill-crane","tag-sandhills","tag-sky","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-landing-mia-mcpherson-6286.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bPs","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15713,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/08\/27\/sandhill-crane-and-a-stormy-sky\/","url_meta":{"origin":45474,"position":0},"title":"Sandhill Crane And A Stormy Sky","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In March of this year I spent several days photographing Sandhill Cranes in southern Utah where the light and the weather could rapidly change.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sandhill Crane and a stormy sky, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-torrey-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\/02\/sandhill-crane-torrey-mia-mcpherson-6304.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-torrey-mia-mcpherson-6304.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/sandhill-cranes-spring-wayne-county-mia-mcpherson-5057.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/sandhill-cranes-spring-wayne-county-mia-mcpherson-5057.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140782,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/25\/an-immature-sandhill-crane-visits-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":45474,"position":2},"title":"An Immature Sandhill Crane Visits Sequoyah National Wildlife 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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14572,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/17\/sandhill-crane-delight\/","url_meta":{"origin":45474,"position":3},"title":"Sandhill Crane Delight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I am back from wandering, camping and photographing in several counties in southern Utah where I was delighted to find some Sandhill Cranes to photograph in Wayne County, Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sandhill Crane in flight with Thousand Lake Mountain in the background, Bicknell Bottoms Wildlife Management Area, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-flying-mia-mcpherson-6305.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-flying-mia-mcpherson-6305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-flying-mia-mcpherson-6305.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-flying-mia-mcpherson-6305.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9591,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/09\/26\/stained-and-unstained-sandhill-cranes\/","url_meta":{"origin":45474,"position":4},"title":"Stained and Unstained Sandhill Cranes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago I saw quite a few Sandhill Cranes starting at just past the Visitors Center for Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, in one of the farmer's fields I saw 11 of them feeding in the freshly tilled soil.","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":"Unstained adult Sandhill Crane at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County, 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2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, on the way to the Uinta Mountains, April Olson and I looked for birds in the Kamas Valley. 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