- “Small” showing of the birds leaving the roost in the morning!
Every year- Hundreds of thousands of Sand Hill Cranes fly from Texas and stop in Nebraska to fuel up for their continuing trip to Alaska or Siberia! I have wanted to go and see this amazing phenomenon for years- I finally got to go this year with My Guy! A few links about the Cranes are below:
- Sticking our heads out of the blind trying to catch some Cranes up close- at 6AM!
Quite a few years ago now, my siblings and I had quite the adventure in GA/FL, discovering Sand Hill Cranes at the OkeeFenokee Swamp! Ever since then I have had quite the “obsession.” (After all I LOVE Herons and Cranes are a similar type of water bird! Giant and prehistoric!) I was on a project in FL for a few months and I drove my co-workers crazy always trying to capture a photo of the Cranes who lived in the pond we passed by every day! By the end of the trip THEY were into the “chase” too! 
- Prehistoric scene
I told My Guy how much I wanted to see the migration and he agreed to make the 8 hour trip to Grand Island, NE (8 hours ONE WAY!) So last weekend- we hopped in the car and made the trek. It was very cool! I mean seriously! It was freaking FREEZING! But it was well worth it.
- The Platte River
There were hundreds of thousands of cranes… and being so close to them was very cool! I don’t have the right kind of zoom lens to have been able to capture images of them up close… That I am kind of dissapointed about- but if you Google “Sand Hill Cranes” you can see amazing images of them up close… all of my images are much further away- AND it was a totally grey, foggy day… but in the end… I am really pleased with the way they came out!
- Dancing in the corn fields….
- Dancing…
- I was so excited to capture so many dancing shots!
In the end- it was a super adventure- that I am so excited to have shared with My Guy. It is something I will always remember and hope to be able to repeat someday again.
- At night- the Cranes settling into their roost.
Things about the Cranes that I love:
- They DANCE! (I love MOVING after all!) They are so beautiful and graceful as they dance around each other.
- The sound of them all together- AMAZING! (Will try to upload a video clip at the end of this post!) It really is something you can never forget.
- Cranes mate for life. They spend their whole lives (and Cranes live for about 30 years) trekking back and forth across the continent and raising their young (which stay with them for usually about two years) together. Now THAT is a committment!
- Freezing AGAIN for the night tour!
Freezing! But clearly enjoying every minute of the adventure!
I can’t upload the video- it’s too big and I don’t know how to edit it to make it smaller. I will try to see if I can upload one of the smaller ones on The Curvy Life Facebook page!
Have you ever seen the Sand Hill Cranes in the mid-west?
How about Florida or in the south?
Have you ever had such an adventure? Just going out and doing something that you hope you will love and making it an adventure?
What a cool trip that must have been for you La! Great shots!!
blessings,