Cranefest

And a Kestrel in the background.... Cranefest 2006; Kiwanis Youth Area near Bellevue, Michigan. Hosted by Michigan Audubon Society. I know I'm taking a sabbatical from Flickr, but I just couldn't resist uploading these pictures....

Cranefest 2006; Kiwanis Youth Area near Bellevue, Michigan. Hosted by Michigan Audubon Society. I know I'm taking a sabbatical from Flickr, but I just couldn't resist uploading these pictures....

Cranefest 2006; Kiwanis Youth Area near Bellevue, Michigan. Hosted by Michigan Audubon Society. I know I'm taking a sabbatical from Flickr, but I just couldn't resist uploading these pictures....

Sandhill Cranes arriving at Big Marsh Lake, near Bellevue, Michigan. Yes, we went back tonight. And yes, it really was like this for a time. Absolutely wonderful. Better, but less populated, pix coming over the next few days.

The last of my Crane Fest pics.....

Since our last visit to the place, Ducks Unlimited has assisted the owners in replacing the dam which controls the water level at Big Marsh Lake. One benefit was the new growth of wild rice (the pale green growth in this photo) in the lake. This is a very shallow lake, by the way; mostly it's two or three feet deep. None of which is particularly related to why I took this photo: It was a beautiful day, and the trees were close to peak colors.

My opinion: The best photos of Sandhills show their awkward landing methods . Unfortunately, at Big Marsh the birds generally land so far from the viewing area that, at best, you get pictures like this , at least with any lens I'm willing to purchase. On Saturday, the birds arrived so late in the day that even that wasn't realistic; things were getting far too dark at ground level for a hand-held capture at any distance. But these overhead pics in the setting sunlight came out just fine.

Crane Fest at Kiwanis Youth Area, on Big Marsh Lake, near Bellevue, Michigan. These are the early-arrivals; I took this before 5:00 pm on Saturday, about 90 minutes before the cranes began arriving in force. That doesn't mean there was nothing to see; ducks and geese and cormorants and other birds keep moving around out there, and some of these folks are serious birders. If I'd faced the other way, this photo would show the festival portion of the event, a combination art show and educational effort. And an excellent nature book store. Finally: While there are certainly cranes within this photo's frame, they're too distant to see, even at the original size.

This weekend the Michigan Audubon Society and Battle Creek Kiwanis are hosting Crane Fest at Baker Sanctuary, near Bellevue, Michigan. Thousands of Sandhill Cranes gather at Big Marsh Lake every evening in October. Well worth your evening. What my camera cannot capture is the glorious racket these large birds make. Absolutely incredible. Shot from the Kiwanis Youth Area , which will be open from 4 to 7 every Saturday and Sunday in October. If you can't make the festival, you can still see the spectacle. Go. You'll enjoy!

Imagine, if you will, hundreds of four-foot-tall birds all landing at the same lake on a perfect October evening. This photo will help. Since we missed the 2003 Crane Fest, we spent this evening at Big Marsh Lake and watched the cranes come in with perhaps a hundred other mid-Michigan bird watchers. It was wonderful. If you live anywhere near where these birds congregate, I urge you to spend an evening with Sandhill Cranes. The sights are sublime; the sounds are incredible. Camera: Nikon N90s

Last in this set. Even more fun than the overhead groups, I think, are the remarkable crowds of wading birds who settle in at Big Marsh Lake during October evenings. Compare my similar photo from five years ago for some hint about how the population arriving at the Baker Sanctuary has increased over the years. This photo used the same lens, though it's now attached to a more able camera. The evening bird population seems to have at least doubled over the half-decade. Really quite delightful. The birds will return to the Sanctuary next fall. So will I.

There's always an element of luck with photography. That Gary (cminer52) was able to capture hundreds of sandhills in an overhead shot was partly good planning--he knew where to get the photo--but he still needed the cooperation of the cranes to make the shot. We were seeing similar numbers of birds at Big Marsh Lake, but only a few were directly overhead and my massed-grouping photos showed them coming in across the lake . Different perspectives, and different locations, but both photos show the main action. Not that I lacked for overhead-shot opportunities, as this photo shows. But to duplicate Gary's shot I'd have needed to be standing somewhere else.

Sandhills look so awkward when they're landing....

Hadn't planned to take photographs at Big Marsh Lake last weekend, but then I saw the light.... I carry a pretty good camera--a Nikon D300 with a decent 300 mm lens--when I'm expecting to photograph birds. At Kiwanis Youth Area that's still a stretch for my equipment, as the cranes prefer to congregate away from all the spectators. Nonetheless, with a tripod and severe crops, I occasionally get lucky.

At Kiwanis Youth Area, near Bellevue, Michigan. Sandhill Cranes aren't the only attraction at Baker Sanctuary.

Michigan Audubon 's Baker Sanctuary 's Big Marsh Lake , taken downhill from the pavilion (or whatever y' call it) at Kiwanis Youth Area, near Bellevue. If you look closely, you'll find Sandhill Cranes in the sky, geese and ducks in the water, and perhaps a couple swans. Don't think there are any cormorants or small birds in this picture, but they show up. We've even seen eagles. Approximately the same view: 2003 , 2005 , & 2006 . I certainly have others from my film days....

Big Marsh Lake, from the Kiwanis Youth Area , near Bellevue, Michigan. Besides the obvious birds, there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of cranes wading in the marsh within the frame of this photograph.