Two Sandhill Cranes flew over me this morning as I was walking at the Wetlands.
I decided to test my vestibular system and try and get a picture of them in flight while I was walking.
The best thing about Sandhill Cranes is that they truly think the world belongs to them. They have zero fear. They will peck at cars at a stoplight if they think the car is too close to their nest. They have let me walk within feet of them to get their picture.
And these two, who landed on the road in front of me, were no different.
The American Bittern is so shy that you can almost see it looking at you out of the corner of its eye while it remains perfectly still and tries to Jedi mind trick you into believing you're just seeing another cluster of reeds.
But the Sandhill Crane couldn't care less if you see it or not.
These two this morning moved to the side of the road as I passed, but not because I was passing. They were looking for food, but every few seconds they would point their beaks to the sky and let out a trumpeting hoot as more Sandhill Cranes flew overhead.
I had just passed the two on the road when three other Sandhill Cranes finally answered back, flying low and directly at me.
Immediately, I raised my camera, snapping picture after picture, hoping to get that perfect shot. But it was a gray morning, the fog refusing to burn off, and the pictures I took were not the best.
Further on up the road, I had turned my attention to the ducks and moorhens and coots when I felt something happening behind me. I won't say I heard it. They were pretty quiet and not yet on top of me. But I felt something, maybe it was a shift in the wind. There were so many of them.
I turned and found myself staring at dozens of Cattle Egrets flying across the water and then the road, headed to a group of barren palms.
Again, I snapped picture after picture.
Cattle Egret have become some of my favorite birds to take pictures of. They are skittish, afraid of shadow of my car even if I drive between them and the sun. They are not as graceful as the Snowy Egret. They are small and thicker necked, but they love moving in groups and during mating season when the feathers on their chests and heads turn an orange sorbet color, they are quite striking.
Watching them move through the sky, dancing, swimming, all perfectly in sync like the White Pelicans I had seen the other day and the Glossy Ibises, makes me think that this is how angels move, how angels dance.
I decided to test my vestibular system and try and get a picture of them in flight while I was walking.
The best thing about Sandhill Cranes is that they truly think the world belongs to them. They have zero fear. They will peck at cars at a stoplight if they think the car is too close to their nest. They have let me walk within feet of them to get their picture.
And these two, who landed on the road in front of me, were no different.
The American Bittern is so shy that you can almost see it looking at you out of the corner of its eye while it remains perfectly still and tries to Jedi mind trick you into believing you're just seeing another cluster of reeds.
But the Sandhill Crane couldn't care less if you see it or not.
These two this morning moved to the side of the road as I passed, but not because I was passing. They were looking for food, but every few seconds they would point their beaks to the sky and let out a trumpeting hoot as more Sandhill Cranes flew overhead.
I had just passed the two on the road when three other Sandhill Cranes finally answered back, flying low and directly at me.
Immediately, I raised my camera, snapping picture after picture, hoping to get that perfect shot. But it was a gray morning, the fog refusing to burn off, and the pictures I took were not the best.
Further on up the road, I had turned my attention to the ducks and moorhens and coots when I felt something happening behind me. I won't say I heard it. They were pretty quiet and not yet on top of me. But I felt something, maybe it was a shift in the wind. There were so many of them.
I turned and found myself staring at dozens of Cattle Egrets flying across the water and then the road, headed to a group of barren palms.
Again, I snapped picture after picture.
Cattle Egret have become some of my favorite birds to take pictures of. They are skittish, afraid of shadow of my car even if I drive between them and the sun. They are not as graceful as the Snowy Egret. They are small and thicker necked, but they love moving in groups and during mating season when the feathers on their chests and heads turn an orange sorbet color, they are quite striking.
Watching them move through the sky, dancing, swimming, all perfectly in sync like the White Pelicans I had seen the other day and the Glossy Ibises, makes me think that this is how angels move, how angels dance.
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