Photographing Sandhill Cranes: The Challenges and Rewards - Part 1

The first time I ever saw Sandhill Cranes was a good number of years ago, well over 20 close to 25 years anyway, while I and a friend were on a late season goose hunt on Oklahoma's Canton Lake. The goose hunt was pretty much a bust but all through the morning we kept hearing this haunting chattel like call echoing off in the distance. Neither one of us knew what it was so we decided to investigate. Eventually we spied a large circling dome of birds hovering and spinning above a distant shallow arm of the lake. We still were not sure what they were but eventually made our way close enough to where they were setting down to be almost on the very edge of their group. A large span of tall grasses hid our advance as we worked our way closer. It was quite a sight to witness being where we were, all but in the middle of this amazing flight of exotic birds. The odd thing was, we still were not sure what they were.

A little investigation later that evening revealed their identity and I was forever mesmerized by their haunting call and graceful dance across the sky. Fast forward to more recent times. Living now in Kentucky opened up an all new array of photographic and outdoor adventures, and I learned about how a few thousand Sandhills would winter over around the Barren River Lake area. It did not take long to find them and I began to photograph them with a renewed vigor. After a few seasons of this, I learned about a new and exciting and much larger congregation of them near Seymour, Indiana, something like 30 to 40 thousand of them spend the winter there. The chase was on and over the next several seasons I ventured the 3 hour drive up there to capture and gaze in awe of the spectacle of watching all of those Sandhill lift off their roost just before sunrise to head for their feeding grounds.

Photographing Sandhill Cranes provides a range of challenges but also an abundance of rewards. They are quite wary with sharp eyesight. Getting close to them is not an easy task although I have discovered it is easier to do when there are a large number of them setting down in a cornfield. Numbers seem to provide for them a sense of security. Even so, they keep a sharp eye out for any intrusions and you can't just walk up to them and start photographing.

Trying to guess where they will be feeding is a gamble for they might decide one day to use a particular location and the next day go somewhere else. The most success I've had was to simply drive around until I spotted a large formation setting down in a field, then position myself reasonably close and use a long lens to capture them. I've tried to move closer at times only to have them bust skyward. I've even tried to set up a blind. This has worked on occasion, however it is a guessing game as to where they will be and I've lost many an hour waiting on the birds to show up that never do. Using my Jeep as a blind works pretty well, but I don't like doing that. I much prefer to be outside where I can experience the full range of the moment where large flights of the birds fly over and set down in distance fields. Being inside a blind or a vehicle limits the range of the visual experience in many instances blocking your view of the full sky.

I always wear dull colored or camouflaged clothing so as to blend as much as possible into the prevailing background. Just to explain how good their eyesight is, one time I was in full camo, top to bottom including my face, and I was nestled inside some cover that lined a fence row. Sure enough a group of Sandhills came floating in about to set down a few dozen yards in front of me. 

They were descending maybe 75 feet or so off the ground and I moved ever so slightly and pointed my camera toward them. In an instant, they picked up my movement and flared off to find another safer location. Did manage a few photos, but learned very quickly just how wary they are. 

One of the most magnificent days afield photographing Sandhills I decided to stay until after sundown.

 Most of the birds except for a few straggler had moved off through the day leaving the cornfields around me mostly devoid of their activity. I figured they were gone. A few moments before sundown, with a bright and amazing sunset developing, They started flying through in groups of a hundred, then two hundred and more, returning to their roosting area. By chance, I happened to aligned with their direction of travel as they moved into the sunset. What an amazing sight! Thousands of them sailing by, calling to each other as they settled toward the setting sun. 

On another occasion, I arrived just before sunup and caught the full flight of at least 30,000 Sandhills lifting from their roost to head into the fields for the morning. An amazing sight and one I will not long forget.

In the near future, I will again be heading back to Indiana to witness and capture these amazing birds. Plan is to shoot more video than still photo's, then create a Beyond the Campfire Adventure Video program about the experience. Stay tuned for Part 2 of Photographing Sandhill Cranes: The Challenges and Rewards.