For the second year in a row we were at the Bosque del Apache NWP just the week before their Festival of the Cranes, an event that attracts birders and photographers from all over the US.  From my point of view it’s not the ideal time to visit as there are a lot more people at the preserve and in preparation for the festival there are activities that are disruptive to both wildlife and photography.  But I make the most of the situation.

The photographers are almost ludicrous!  In the early morning there are scores lined up along bodies of water taking photos of the Sandhill cranes flying off to feed in the farm fields.  The next time I go I need to take some photos of the photographers.  Almost all of them have lenses that put mine to shame, and many are toting large camera bags and tripods to boot.

There are two main ways to shoot the cranes at the fly-off in the morning.  If you get a colorful sunrise you shoot silhouettes of the cranes against the sky.  After the sun comes up you try to shoot in the other direction (if there are any cranes left), with the morning sun shining on the cranes.  This usually results in a rapid repositioning of the photographers for the shots.

Here are some of my photos of the Sandhill cranes...

Switching directions (as outlined above), here is a photo of the cranes with the early morning sun on them…

In addition to the cranes, there are thousands of ducks and geese on the preserve.  Here is a pre sunrise photo of a Northern pintail taking off.

After sunup come the daily mop-up operations… touring the preserve and surrounding areas looking for photographic opportunities… such as the Ladder-backed woodpecker…

this meadowlark NOT sitting on a wire or fencepost (!)… and

this American coot working one of the irrigation canals.