These cranes are endangered and rare and are just so beautiful and elegant that I can watch and photograph them for hours. Which is exactly what my photography buddy Bob Karcz and I were able to do in Rockport, Texas on Aransas Bay. Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is the wintering grounds of the whooping crane. Home to a small but reliable sub-flock (Wood Buffalo – Aransas Flock) of the total crane population of about 600 birds. Through conservation and restoration programs these beautiful birds have come back from near extinction when their numbers were down to 21 in the 1940’s. The whooping crane is the tallest bird in North America. It stands 5 feet tall and has a wingspan of 7 1/2 feet. It looks down on most children.
A Whooping Crane takes off from the waters of Aransas bay.
We hired Aransas Bay Birding Charters (Captains Kevin and Lori Sims) to take us out into the bay where the whoopers were feeding on the marsh, and small islands. Their favorite meal – the blue crab:
A whooping crane snatches a blue crab from the waters of Aransas Bay.
Multiple Panel Running Start
The cranes often come to shore and hang out in residential backyards and fields along the waterfront. We were invited by Kevin and Lori to use their bird blind in their back field that they built expressly for the whoopers. What were the chances? We did not expect to see any whoopers in their back field. But after arriving just after sunrise and setting up in the blind, we were astonished to watch a whooper family of two adults and one juvenile, glide over the tree tops and land like gazelles in the field. I was awestruck as I photographed these beautiful creatures for the next hour.
Whooping Crane Family Over The Trees
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It’s been 6 years since my last (and first) visit to Aransas Bay to see the whooping cranes. It’s great to see that the cranes have increased in population since 2011 and that they are still migrating to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge for the winter from Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada.
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (San Antonio, New Mexico) is known world wide as the wintering home of the sandhill crane and snow goose, where 10,000 cranes and 40,000 snow geese rest, feed and prepare for the flight north to their breeding grounds. But it is also know for spectacular sunsets, so I have been told. In my many past visits, I did not experience such sunsets. However, my last visit in December 2016, changed all that. Now, I have seen the light!
Bosque experienced three nights of vivid red and pink sunsets and stunning reflections. A wonderful opportunity for photography and videography.
Sandhill Cranes Roosting Sunset
A few images from my last visit to Bosque del Apache in December 2016:
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But wait, there is more. Bosque is also known for some stunning sunrise reflections as shown in this video:
Click the link to view my Bosque del Apache images and video clips. If you see an image that you love, click BUY for a print or an image file download.
Nature’s Reflections – Nature’s mirror, the wonderful experience of seeing nature twice in the same moment.
I have had the good fortune to capture many beautiful reflections of scenics and wildlife. Have a look at my Reflections Gallery. If you see an image that you love, just select BUY for a print or an image download:
10% of my profit on sales goes to the “National Wildlife Federation, Guardians of the Wild”. So with each purchase you are helping to protect our wild places.
You can order prints on metal, canvas, acrylic metal, wood, coffee mugs, mouse pads, refrigerator magnets, cell phone cases and yes, even paper of any of my images at exceptionally low prices at:
Bugle Boy – A bull elk bugles his readiness to mate and his frustration that the cows seem to be ignoring him
I have the good fortune to live in a location where elk herds roam. I have been able to watch them and photograph them in the nearby ranches in Silverthorne, Colorado. I can watch them from my balcony on the distant meadows of Ruby Ranch. I have also photographed them in Rocky Mountain National Park (only 2 hours away), Yellowstone National Park, and in Jasper/Banff National Parks in Canada.
I am fascinated by these majestic, elegant, very large, captivating mammals. I stay a respectful distance and photograph them with zoom lenses. They can be dangerous. A frenzied cow elk thought that we were too close to her baby (we did not see the newborn calf in the grass, practically on the trail). Mother elk chased us around the RV park until we lost her behind an RV. I would not want to encounter a bull elk with massive antlers in the heat of the rut. Photographing from a vehicle is a safe strategy and one that I use frequently. However, occasionally, there are opportunities when one can photograph in the field at a safe distance.
Wapiti Watering Hole
Here I was photographing from across a pond, almost at eye level with this 6×6 antler bull elk. A safe place to shoot from.
Have a look at my elk gallery of images and videos taken over the years from Silverthorne, Colorado through Alberta, Canada:
The Westcliffe Stampede Rodeo is an amazing event to watch and photograph. The skills of the cowboys and the horses are impressive. Westcliffe is a “cowboy” town in southern Colorado where they hold the annual Westcliffe Stampede Rodeo – keeping the west in Westcliffe.
My wildlife photography skills came in very handy photographing the rodeo events, especially the Tie-Down event. A cowboy, riding his horse with lasso whipping, must chase down a calf, lasso the neck, jump from his horse, wrestle the calf to the ground, then tie three legs together all in a race against time.
See the following sequence where the event is captured:
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