Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)

            Hundreds of Sandhill Cranes literally dropped from the sky about an hour before sunset when I was watching some other birds. The sight, the sound and the controlled chaos was unbelievably magical and memorable!

These birds are part of the Eastern Population of sandhill cranes, and they had just flown at least 300 miles during their fall migration on the way to Florida for their wintering grounds. They looked exhausted, their feathers were shaggy and as soon as they landed on the water they drank and kept drinking from the pond. 

Migrating cranes need an open place to safely roost overnight, and nearby cornfields also provide them with another necessary food supply in which to forage and gather the carbohydrates to store as energy for these long migration flights.

The cranes will ideally wait for a sunny day with north winds to continue their journey south, but they will fly in any weather though. Depending on the winds they will fly 250-500 miles (400-800 km) a day! They are strong fliers, and their average speed is 25-35 mph (40-56 kmh).

And then they do this all over again during the spring migration in March and April when they return back north. 

Migration is the most dangerous time for all the birds. Majority of those dangers are manmade.

Taken on: November 16, 2024

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Camera: Canon EOS R5m2, f/10.0, 1/640 sec, 700mm, ISO 5000 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS R5m2
Lens:	RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + EXTENDER RF1.4x
Aperture:	f/10.0
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	700mm
ISO:	5000
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Lightroom 8.0 (Windows)
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