![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sandhill-crane-0038-final-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"sandhill-crane-0038-final-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nA short post today. In the last four days I’ve published three blog posts that averaged over 17 photos apiece. That’s gotta stop, so today’s edition of Feathered Photography includes just one image.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n But it’s a photo that’s special to me because of the memory and mood it brings back.<\/p>\n Three days ago I found this mated pair of Sandhill Cranes at Bear River MBR very soon after sunrise. Their loud rattling calls were booming across the marsh as birds of several other species (avocets, stilts, meadowlarks, wrens and two species of blackbirds) were calling too. I had the place to myself, the light was to die for, the air was still and directly in front of me a flock of about 20 American White Pelicans were in flight with the snow-covered Promontory Mountains directly behind them. The sights and sounds and even the smells were delicious – a delight for the senses.<\/span><\/p>\n Experiences like that are a big part of why I photograph birds. Yes, it means sacrifices, like getting up at a ridiculously early hour, leaving my house at dark o’clock and driving for 90 minutes so I can arrive at the refuge at dawn.<\/p>\n But for me it’s worth it, even if I don’t get great photos. I’m pretty sure most of my birder and bird photographer friends understand perfectly.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A photo that illustrates one of the primary reasons I photograph birds.<\/p>\n