Sandhill Cranes, Perspective!

Another image from yesterday's drive to photograph the Sandhill Cranes staging in areas around Cecilia, Kentucky. This particular image was starkly green and vastly out of focus. I had mistakenly turned the setting on my camera in the wrong direction. I realized after I took this photograph and changed it. But there was no going back to get this image again. After some work, I did manage to get most of the green out of the image, but at the cost of clarity and much more. But still I felt I wanted you to see this image as its perspective is so unique. Two cranes looking in opposite directions. Perspective is important in an image. In this one it's quite dominant. And while it's not my best work, granted it's pretty lousy in quality, it's ok. Because into every life a little imperfection is ok. ENJOY!

Sandhill Cranes, Spring Migration!

Today I took a short drive just south of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, which is about 40 miles south of Louisville. I went in search of Sandhill Cranes. The Kentucky Birding website had several posts indicating the cranes were roosting during their Spring migration in an area just west of Cecilia, Kentucky. And as luck would have it, I found the exact spot noted on the website from yesterday's sighting.

When migrating, you can view Sandhills in flocks of hundreds and thousands. These birds today are making their way across Kentucky and Indiana to reach their nesting area in the Great Lakes Region. These birds with their long necks and long legs, generally have tufted feathers over their rump, and may have a reddish stain on their feathers. You can see the reddish stain on some of the images I took today. Other distinguishing marks are white cheeks and a red forehead.

While I tried to take a photo of the cranes doing their mating dance, the flock in this image was too far in the distance so the mating dance got a little lost in translation.


Some 650,000 Sandhill Cranes make the Midwest migration annually with a higher peak in numbers occurring around March 1st. Jasper Pulaski NWR in northwest Indiana is the place to spot tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes. This is one of their preferred staging areas. It's just north of Indianapolis and isn't difficult to find. If you live nearer to that area, it's the place to spot them. Hope your weekend is going well. ENJOY!