Whooping Cranes

Gallery: AvianPosted November 8, 2009239 views12 comments

Whooping Cranes are migrating through central Kansas in good numbers atm, with some observers sighting close to 30 birds at Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira NWR. I had the good fortune of seeing a flock of 6 adults and 1 juvenile in a corn field relatively close to the road. 50D, f/8, ISO 400, 1/800, 450mm plus 1.4 teleconverter, cropped ~50% or slightly more.

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on November 8, 2009 at 11:49 PM

Congrats on seeing this super rare bird and I like that you can see both the brown and the white plumages. I'd rotate this just a touch CCW to even out the 'horizon'

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on November 8, 2009 at 11:53 PM

Great capture, Rob!
Adults + juvenile is excellent!
Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Ákos Lumnitzer on November 9, 2009 at 3:42 AM

Held up well for the crop. Wish the crane was facing you, but I bet you were stoked to be able to capture this as is. Agree with Luke about the CCW rotation.

Registered on April 24, 2004, 25 Posts, 510 Comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on November 9, 2009 at 8:15 AM

Congrats on capturing such a rare bird! Looks very good considering your limitations.

Registered on February 13, 2006, 166 Posts, 1818 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on November 9, 2009 at 8:44 AM

Rob, isn't it amazing to see these big birds and then to actually capture an image. We are also on their migratory path so we see them fairly frequently.
Well done.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 9, 2009 at 9:46 AM

Nice catch, and congratulations on seeing these, Rob. It's good to hear that they've had a successful year. I like the composition with the two onlookers watching the third.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Rhodus on November 9, 2009 at 12:32 PM

Hey Rob, congrats on capturing some nice images of the Whooping Cranes. I'm sure it was a thrilling time to be so close to this rare bird. I like the dual plumages shown in this capture. Well done!

Registered on November 16, 2003, 157 Posts, 3326 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on November 9, 2009 at 1:04 PM

Big congrats on this image Rob, great action and really cool to get adults and a juvie together. I thought it might be a little tight looking at the smaller image but in the larger image I think your comp works well.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on November 9, 2009 at 8:11 PM

The postures of all three birds work well for me Rob and I agree with the other positive comments made here. In addition I quite like the way the light hits the birds and foreground, leaving the background in shade. I think that makes this image even better. Well done.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on November 9, 2009 at 11:20 PM

What a super opportunity and you made the most of it. I like the two dissimilar birds watching the third with outstretched wings, very cool. Good exposure as well.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Graham on November 10, 2009 at 7:26 AM

Thanks for the comments everybody. It was quite the experience, since my usual viewing of this species is through a scope.

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on November 11, 2009 at 5:00 PM

I love the ones open wings and how the other two seem to be watching him put on a show. Mostly I am just jealous that you got to see these birds close enough to get some great images.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments