{"id":9591,"date":"2013-09-26T03:45:10","date_gmt":"2013-09-26T09:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=9591"},"modified":"2025-02-25T07:12:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T13:12:59","slug":"stained-and-unstained-sandhill-cranes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/09\/26\/stained-and-unstained-sandhill-cranes\/","title":{"rendered":"Stained and Unstained Sandhill Cranes"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few days ago I saw quite a few Sandhill Cranes starting at\u00a0just past the Visitors Center for Bear\u00a0River National Wildlife Refuge, in one of the farmer’s fields I saw 11 of them feeding in\u00a0the freshly tilled soil.<\/p>\n

\"Unstained“Unstained” adult Sandhill Crane – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I didn’t take any images of them because there were too far away and the sun hadn’t yet fully risen. Later on I spotted two more Sandhill adults in a field that I did take images of even though I would have preferred them to be closer.<\/p>\n

During this time of the year\u00a0many of the Sandhill Cranes I see are mostly soft mousey gray in color but…<\/p>\n

\"Stained “Stained” adult Sandhill Crane – Nikon D300, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

They can look like they are anywhere from drab clay colored to cinnamon rufous because their plumage gets stained by water, vegetation, and mud.<\/p>\n

Sandhill Cranes intentionally rub their plumage with soil and the color of the soil can determine what color the stain becomes.\u00a0 A freshly molted crane will appear pale to slate colored gray.<\/p>\n

Normally the stains are mid-neck or below but the crane above shows staining up the neck into the chin and upper throat.<\/p>\n

I thought photos comparing stained and unstained Sandhill Cranes would be interesting for my viewers who aren’t familiar with them.<\/p>\n

Stained or unstained I think Sandhill Cranes are quite lovely for living fossils<\/a><\/span>.<\/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":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140801,"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":[124,1513,27,223,12,450,26],"tags":[4004,4259,3823,3132,4953,4109,4094,1053,4057,4518,2359,2360,4307],"class_list":["post-9591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-montana","category-sandhill-cranes","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-antigone-canadensis","tag-crane","tag-cranes","tag-freshly-molted","tag-grasses","tag-marsh","tag-plumage","tag-sagebrush","tag-sandhill-crane","tag-stained","tag-unstained","tag-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-adult-autumn-mia-mcpherson-7656.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2uH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":104687,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/01\/wasatch-mountain-range-sandhill-crane-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":9591,"position":0},"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":152404,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/08\/17\/memories-of-sandhill-cranes-in-the-kamas-valley\/","url_meta":{"origin":9591,"position":1},"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 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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":110519,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/25\/migrating-sandhill-cranes-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":9591,"position":3},"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":111112,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/13\/communing-with-sandhill-cranes\/","url_meta":{"origin":9591,"position":4},"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, 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":115246,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/18\/kamas-valley-sandhill-crane-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":9591,"position":5},"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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9591","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=9591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}