Cranes! The return of Sandhill Cranes each fall is always a thrill, especially for me, but for many birders. Their size, their grace, and especially their calls of the wild, create an inner yearning to photograph the bird birds in the midst of their graceful flights. The first flocks always excite me as they arrive from central Canada after the nesting season, and no matter how many photographs I take of Sandhills, seeing and hearing these birds always inspires me to spend some extra time photographing them.

Part of a series of photographs, this image is the product of a rare chance to take a full-frame photo of a Sandhill Crane in flight as it called in the company of its mate, which was positioned just outside the photo frame (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/4000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Friday was another perfect early fall afternoon with not a cloud in the sky and no indication of a breeze as I checked out the 150 Sandhills spread out across the landscape before me – some lining the open shore of a shallow marsh, some feeding in a harvested grain field, and an occasional small flock flying low between the 2 locations. With the rural gravel road dividing the roosting and feeding location, this was a perfect situation as I approached the scene with the low sun at my back.

It's always exciting to photograph cranes, or geese, or swans along a flight path between water and food. It was also fun to watch the cranes flapping their wings in anticipation to take flight, even jumping up into a wing-flapping, twisting, dancing display; to hear them call, then take flight, continuing to call as they gained elevation, rising slowly. But the cranes didn’t elevate very high, which provided the chance to photograph the cranes on more of a low horizontal level rather than high above the ground, which is usually the case with wary cranes. One after another, pairs, trios, and flocks of 4 to 15 cranes flew low before me, behind me, and occasionally over me – woo!

The position of the birds and especially the positioning of the wings, is always a factor when trying to take flight photographs. Usually it requires taking a number of photos, then choosing the best ones and cropping them to improve the positioning of the birds within the camera frame (600mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/1600 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

That’s when the action is unsurpassed, and positioning the cranes in the camera frame becomes primary, followed by watching the positioning of the birds in respect to other cranes in the photo frame, and watching their wing action as the big cranes raise their broad wings up and down. It’s important to try to anticipate the birds’ next move, and to take 2 or 3 photos in quick succession to get just the right positioning in flight. It’s all manageable as the cranes’ wingbeats are usually not too fast, unless there is a tailwind involved, and with a still wind Friday, that wasn’t a factor.

I was thrilled to photograph the Sandhills, but as the action waned, I decided to get a look at the greater refuge area, finding another 250 Sandhill Cranes feeding in a huge grain stubble field just north of the north side of Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge. I enjoyed more birding in the area, as shared in my Editor Afield article in this issue, but when I reviewed my photographs that evening, I had some second thoughts. On the creative side, I realized the Sandhill photos were of the quality that I would like to feature in this Bird Photography article, but I felt I needed a couple more photos to give a more comprehensive idea of the action along the cranes’ flight path.

In the lower left side of this classic V-shaped flock, 2 young Sandhill Cranes add interest to this image, showing siblings that probably fledged about 2 months earlier in central Canada. It’s always enjoyable to take a variety of flock photos and select the best (600mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/2500 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Of course, that’s when I began pressing myself to return for another late afternoon photo session with the Sandhill Cranes. After all, Saturday the sky was totally clear and blue, with area wetlands showing not a ripple of wind again. I had publishing work to do, but made good progress in the morning and early afternoon, to took a longer birding break and planning to work late into Saturday night to make up for a great opportunity to photograph cranes in flight again. But would the tall birds still be there? Would they follow the same flight path to the same field? Well, there was only one way to find out.

I hit the road and drove the 90 miles for the second day in a row, taking a different route to get another insight into regional birds. When I turned the corner off Highway 83, I began watching the sky ahead, but there was no hint of cranes during the first mile – hmm. But half way through mile 2 a large flock that numbered 25 Sandhills flew from north to south before me. It looked like there were far fewer cranes in the roosting wetland, but it turned out that most were standing along the shore a little deeper into the wetland basin where a cattail stand kept them hidden from the rural road until I checked farther ahead.

As the cranes flew closer to the feeding field, they tended to form lines with one bird following the next. This image provides a look at Sandhills with varied wing and neck positions (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/4000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

I didn’t need to wait long before the first flock raised up and headed my way, and that flock was followed by many others, usually one at a time. The cranes began flying to the feeding area at the same time the sun was at a lower angle, beginning the period of perfect lighting with the sun at my back. It’s never a coincidence that I am photographing birds during the best period of afternoon sunlight – I always plan it that way, and frankly, don’t photograph under cloudy conditions or during midday when sunlight creates strong overhead shadows.

The best sunlight angle for photography has been changing rapidly the past couple weeks, and at my latitude, prime afternoon photo time is now from 4:30 to 6:30pm, although between 3:00 and 4:30pm is pretty good when I want to extend my bird photography period. On the technical side, after using an f-8 aperture the first afternoon, I switched to a broader f-11 aperture to be sure multiple cranes in flocks I was photographing were in focus. That changed the shutter speed from a super-fast 1/4000 to a plenty-fast 1/1600 or 1/2500 of a second. When photographing the cranes in flight, I often took 2 or more images in rapid succession, especially when a particular flock flew closer or when the cranes tipped to one side or the other in flight.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes flying in tandem provides a pleasing close view into the approach of the cranes before landing. Throughout the photo period, ample sunlight provided fast shutter speeds to stop the aerial action (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/4000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

It turned out that my second Sandhill Crane photo session provided even more opportunities to photograph flocks of cranes, and ultimately some photos that showed more cranes in the photo frame. As with all bird photography sessions, photo editing becomes a big part of the process. As everyone does, I take many photos in the field, then pick out my favorites during the review process, followed by cropping the best of the best. Certainly, with flying birds the simple position of a bird’s wings with reference to shadows and other lighting factors can make or break an image. Add to that equation more than one bird, and the chance of getting all birds in a pleasing position in flight is less likely, but that’s part of the process – a most important part in the end.

It was exciting to find the cranes and great fun to get into a position where I could photograph the cranes during their low flights. This photo session marked the beginning of the fall season when geese and swans should provide many more photo opportunities during the second half of October and into November, before freeze-up. In the meantime, I hope this early season photo description inspires you to seek out some fall Sandhills, or the soon to come migrating geese and swans. Try to find a flight path between a resting area and a feeding site and get into position with the sun behind you and the birds passing before – that’s when you will surely have a blast photographing the big birds on the wing.

Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad

Share your bird photos and birding experiences at editorstbw2@gmail.com