Sandhill Cranes fleeing a Bald Eagle
p.1 #1Sandhill Cranes fleeing a Bald Eagle
I had just arrived at the Creamery Fields in Fairbanks Alaska and before starting our walk on the trails stopped at a nearby parking lot to see what the remaining Sandhill Cranes were doing. This wildlife sanctuary is a stopping off location for the Sandhill Cranes as they make there journeys both north and south. There Crane Festival is in during the third week of August which is when they stop there and strengthen up before heading south. When we arrived in mid October only the stragglers were left yet it was fun to see and photograph them. Just after arriving one Crane took to the air and starting letting out continuous alert calls to the others on the ground. I was looking around around to see what the threat was and the other Cranes took to the air. As the Cranes climbed flying in a circle upwards I spotted a dark raptor approaching and it was also climbing using the thermals to go up. I took photos as the powerful wings of the Sandhill Cranes took them up much faster than the dark attacker. It was not till I got home and processed my images that I was able to identify the attacker as a juvenile Bald Eagle.
Comments and suggestions welcome,
Morris
1) Single Crane in the air sounding the allert
2) One of about half a dozen climbing above me
3) Two of the Cranes as they circle and climb. They were in a circle probably drafting
4) One of them climbing. Eventually they were so high they were little dots even at 700mm
5) The Bald Eagle trying to catch up to the Cranes
6) A blastoff later in the day
Comments and suggestions welcome,
Morris
1) Single Crane in the air sounding the allert
X-H2S XF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens 700mm f/8.0 1/1800s 800 ISO +1.0 EV
2) One of about half a dozen climbing above me
X-H2S XF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens 700mm f/8.0 1/900s 800 ISO +1.0 EV
3) Two of the Cranes as they circle and climb. They were in a circle probably drafting
X-H2S XF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens 700mm f/8.0 1/2500s 800 ISO +0.7 EV
4) One of them climbing. Eventually they were so high they were little dots even at 700mm
X-H2S XF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens 700mm f/8.0 1/3000s 800 ISO 0.0 EV
5) The Bald Eagle trying to catch up to the Cranes
X-H2S XF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens 700mm f/8.0 1/950s 800 ISO +1.3 EV
6) A blastoff later in the day
X-H2S XF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens 700mm f/8.0 1/1700s 2000 ISO 0.0 EV
Sep 22, 2026 at 09:09 AM
p.1 #2Sandhill Cranes fleeing a Bald Eagle
This is a very nice set, Morris.
Sep 22, 2026 at 07:15 PM
p.1 #3Sandhill Cranes fleeing a Bald Eagle
Interesting story behind the pic's Morris, I wouldn't think an Eagle would go after such a big bird, but then again, it is an Eagle...
Reminds me of my old boss from Kentucky at my first high school job when he used to say, "That's like a dog chasing a sports car, what's he gonna do when he catches it?"
Eric
Reminds me of my old boss from Kentucky at my first high school job when he used to say, "That's like a dog chasing a sports car, what's he gonna do when he catches it?"
Eric
Sep 23, 2026 at 11:08 AM
|
p.1 #6Sandhill Cranes fleeing a Bald Eagle
Wow, I'm blown away, those are some really nice images Morris!
Sep 23, 2026 at 06:43 PM
p.1 #7Sandhill Cranes fleeing a Bald Eagle
Nice set of these majestic birds, Morris. I love the colours in the first image the most.
Sep 24, 2026 at 03:52 AM