I’m not going to be able to make the Crane thing if you do it on this Saturday but this article was in the paper and I thought you might find it interesting. One thing I noticed in the sidebar is the return of the cruise option. I think it would be neat and probably a much better way to get to see the birds. I went out to the site: Blue Moon Cruises and noticed that it has a group booking option. Not sure how much that would be but if it was financially reasonable I would be interested if it were on a day other than Saturday.
It would be nice if we didn’t have to worry about taking our time in certain areas or having to be mindful of non-photographers and getting in their way with our gear. If there is any interest in a group outing I will call and ask how much it would cost to book the boat. The regular rates are $39 per person. I don’t know if they book during the week or not but I would be willing to take a vacation day if that meant getting there with a lot less people. The cruise guy might hang around longer as well if he doesn’t have anything else booked.
Here is a link to a picture I took of the article in today's picture. My scanner is packed away so I took the lazy way out: Crane article
I'm never very good with the quote function. This is from Grant back on 1/6:
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I have not photographed in quite a while so I need to get away soon. Some friends have mentioned going back up to Hiawasse Wildlife Refuge on February 3rd so we might get this together in another week or so. We went there last year on Jan 28 and there were thousands of Sand hill Cranes and a couple of Whooping Cranes. I think they are there about the same time each year but I want to try and find out for sure. This refuge is very near Cleveland, TN. Also The World of Wheels will be at the World Congress Center on the Following weekend and I plan on trying to go the first day before most of the crowd comes in. Any others interested in going to either of these let me know.
Grant
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we went last year and while there were tons of birds they were pretty far away. The cruise thing might be the answer for that. I tried to set it up for last year but they were having boat problems. Even though we were a bit far away to get good shots, it was pretty neat seeing that many birds. And, they were VERY loud...
Forgot to add. I have to check on a couple of things before I can commit to Calloway. I think we will be able to make it but I won't know until the end of the upcoming week.
If we do get to come down we will probably go to FDR state park and camp Friday and Saturday should anyone want to join us.
We still plan to go to the Hiawassee NWR on Saturday Feb. 3. I plan on driving up Friday night and staying in Cleveland, TN. Exit 27 @ I-75 and having breakfast at Denny's around 8:30. Two friends of mine from Cartersville will be meeting me there. Anyone interested in joining in? Mark gives a good description of the conditions. The Cranes are still quite a ways off but they fly in and out and sometimes in huge numbers. The Boat trip would be a great idea but not sure if we could swing this on a one day trip.
Calloway on the 17th sounds great and I will probably meet Mark at FDR in my Chinook since gas prices have fallen some. Rob, I have an extra 100mm Macro that you can use at Calloway.
Another trip that I am interested in taking is Merritt Island NWR near Titusville, FL around the first of April. There are various other places to take in on the way down or back from Merritt. Harris Neck NWR, The Alligator Farm, Fort Clinch State Park and others. This would be spring break for some and could make it a little crowded at the alligator Farm and Ft. Clinch.
woohoo!!! Camping with Grant! I'll bring extra firewood...
If you get bored on Saturday you can drive back to Chattanooga and join Tracey & I at the St. Jude School. We will be there from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm shooting a 7th & 8th grade basketball tournament...
April just might be a possibility. I will check the calendar later to see if/when nancy is off from school. It usually happens around that time.
Have a good time shooting the sandhill cranes. Wonder if they taste like chicken?
We cancelled the Sandhill Crane shoot at Hiwassee NWR. High of 40-42 degrees but winds at 15-20 mph predicted. Not sure how this would affect the Cranes. We may try for next Saturday.
Grant, you made a good call about cancelling the Hiwassee shoot. I went out there for a couple hours today and the cranes were not very close to the viewing area (they were on the hill across the water). I didn't even get my gear out of the vehicle - just binoculars. However, we were graced with a flyover by a mature bald eagle. Also, there was a whooping crane in with the sandhills but again they were too far away.
I did get extremely lucky as I was leaving the area. I came across several sandhill cranes feeding withing 30 - 50 yards from the road. They weren't too skittish because I was able to pull off the road, setup and get some pretty good shots.
