Thursday, October 27, 2011

Sandhills at Sunset

Each fall the sandhill cranes gather together in a prelude to their fall migration south. Large numbers of cranes spend their days eating and building up energy in the fields that surround Crex Meadows in Wisconsin. As the sun begins to set they fly back to Crex, often in large waves of birds that remind me of pictures and movies that I have seen of bombing campaigns during WWII. They will spend the night with their toes immersed in the muddy bottoms of the shallow pools. The water serves as both an alarm and deterrent to predators that may try and sneak up on them in the night. When the sun rises the next morning the cranes will leave in waves again, like wheat, back into the fields to eat.

12 comments:

KaHolly said...

Gorgeous photo and great narrative! When I'm in TX I see them - I hear them first - flying in large flocks overhead! Always gives me pause!

Jeannelle said...

Lovely color! Happy skywatching!

hannah said...

A Halloween sky if ever there was one.

Sylvia K said...

Marvelous orange skies and a perfect backdrop for the birds! And, yes, a great Halloween sky indeed! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Sylvia

Judy said...

Gorgeous silhouettes!! I would love to see them fly!

Helen said...

Beautiful photo.

Kay L. Davies said...

Incredible sky full of amazing birds. Gorgeous shot!

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

Roberto Machado Alves said...

A beautiful picture, poetry. Congratulations on your great composition.

Dina said...

Beautiful shot! Hopefully they are heading down my way.

Frostbite and Sunburn said...

What a stunning and vivid silhouetty pic - lovely!

Not aware of cranes around my part of the world.

lazyclick said...

Amazing shot.

Anonymous said...

Just gorgeous!