Got a call from the Ant-man late last night..."You wanna go shoot some Sandhill Cranes?" I was intrigued at the prospect of a new bird for me so of course I called in sick to work and went the next day with Anthony and boy was I surprised!!

These birds are some of the most amazing I have ever seen. The whole experience photographing these migratory birds is one I recommend to everyone. They call to each other with beautiful sounds and do the coolest jump-kick moves.

So to Ant, thanks for the invite my good friend!

I hope you all enjoy looking at them as much as I had taking them! Its a loooong post as usual for me.

1 Proof that I was up at 4AM

2 Then as the sun rose.... a few came in

3 Then some more...

4 Then they started to land

5 A couple of fly-bys!

6 More fly-bys... by now I'm hoping they get a little closer.

7 If you stay in your car they'll let you get pretty close. This image also includes the lesser Sandhill (the short one )

8 This particular group was pretty fearless!

9 Then the isolated shots begin....

Nothing like shooting in good light!

10

11

12

Suddenly they were EVERYWHERE!!! Eeeeekkkk!

13 From the right!

14 Another from the right!

15 From the left!

After a while, my neck was hurting from looking up for 4 hours at these.

16

17

18

After the day was done....

19 Time for bed

20 One last stroll....

21 Goodbye folks!

Congrats on the first Conrad

A great set, I would call some out but I got lost in vast amount to choose from. It sure looks like you had fun from sun up to down. You have some great flyers and on the ground shots

Tim (saving you from page 2 )

Conrad -
What a productive outing.
- Ken

Congrats on your first!
I've never seen one of these in SoCal. Are they coming this way for the winter?

-Quang

Congrats on your first sandies Conrad. Sounded like you both had a 'great' time. Wish Ant. had taken that pic w/ your other new friend there . Man, I forgot what I pick as fav at the end . All good here buddy.
Dano

Good thing you posted before ANTman He told me you boys were shooting Sandies as he made the drive home and I figured at least you would post your images

A nice mix of shots, sure love the coloring and pattern on #16. #14,17,18 are good IF's too You may have a little WB issue on some, the reds don't seem clean to me? I know, mixed light, early and late, sounds like you guys had fun, congrats on your firsts here Conrad and nice work buddy!

Karl

Wow, what a neat experience, awesome photo's Conrad! 16, 17 and 18 are in my opinion superb!
Larry

Tim Kuhn wrote:
Congrats on the first Conrad

A great set, I would call some out but I got lost in vast amount to choose from. It sure looks like you had fun from sun up to down. You have some great flyers and on the ground shots

Tim (saving you from page 2 )

Thanks Tim! They were sure a thrill to see and photograph. Next time I'll post less so you can choose a fav without getting lost!

fwyflyr wrote:
Conrad -
What a productive outing.
- Ken

It sure was Ken! Ant and I drove from field to field and they were everywhere by the thousands! A sight to see!

ShutteredMe wrote:
Congrats on your first!
I've never seen one of these in SoCal. Are they coming this way for the winter?

-Quang

Thanks Quang! I'm sorry but I believe they are going to northern California the next few weeks. Heading up towards Canada. Better get up here quick man befor they are all gone!

danjacquitaylo wrote:
Congrats on your first sandies Conrad. Sounded like you both had a 'great' time. Wish Ant. had taken that pic w/ your other new friend there . Man, I forgot what I pick as fav at the end . All good here buddy.
Dano

Thanks Danno! Maybe it was a good thing you couldn't make it. It could have been YOU getting busted for tresspassing!

Karl Witt wrote:
Good thing you posted before ANTman He told me you boys were shooting Sandies as he made the drive home and I figured at least you would post your images

A nice mix of shots, sure love the coloring and pattern on #16. #14,17,18 are good IF's too You may have a little WB issue on some, the reds don't seem clean to me? I know, mixed light, early and late, sounds like you guys had fun, congrats on your firsts here Conrad and nice work buddy!

Karl

Karl my friend, I always enjoy your replies and comments! They are always full of three things, good humor, encouraging praise and best of all constructive critisizm. All are duly noted in my mental roladex! I sure hope Ant gets to post his soon! I want to see his mkIII in action!

Karl Witt wrote:
Good thing you posted before ANTman He told me you boys were shooting Sandies as he made the drive home and I figured at least you would post your images

A nice mix of shots, sure love the coloring and pattern on #16. #14,17,18 are good IF's too You may have a little WB issue on some, the reds don't seem clean to me? I know, mixed light, early and late, sounds like you guys had fun, congrats on your firsts here Conrad and nice work buddy!

Karl

Karl my friend, I always enjoy your replies and comments! They are always full of three things, good humor, encouraging praise and best of all constructive critisizm. All are duly noted in my mental roladex! I sure hope Ant gets to post his soon! I want to see his mkIII in action!

BearCreekLar wrote:
Wow, what a neat experience, awesome photo's Conrad! 16, 17 and 18 are in my opinion superb!
Larry

Thank you Larry! It was great fun for sure!