Sandhill Crane Migration
Sandhill Crane Migration photo by Steve Eckes
Getting a chance to photograph the sandhill crane migration along the Platte River has been on my bucket list for a long time. This year we had a chance to check that checkbox. We drove out to North Platte, Nebraska for this adventure. We had signed up with Dusty Trails, LLC, a company that offered guided tours of the migration. The main criteria for selecting Dusty Trails over a few of the other tour companies, other than they seemed to know what they were doing, was that North Platte was closer to Fort Collins than any of the other tour companies. We could be there in four hours.
We arrived the day before our tour to get settled and check out the lay of the land. North Platte is a small town with a population of just over 23,000 people. The town center has been nicely renovated. We didn’t spend much time there other than to take a quick look around, locate some restaurants, etc. Our hotel was situated just across the street from the visitor center where we were to meet our guides. We were to meet our k guides at 5:30 in the morning for the first tour. We had signed up for four different tours with Dusty Trails. Three were to see and photograph the sandhill cranes in the morning and evening at their roosting site on the river and also a tour out into the countryside to see the cranes in the fields. There was a fourth tour that we signed up for, to see the prairie chicken’s spring rituals. I posted about the prairie chickens here.
Early the next morning we headed over to the visitor center to start our tour. At the visitor center, we clambered aboard an old school bus with our full load of photography equipment. We didn’t know what to expect in this, our first outing, so we brought our full packs. Once we had pulled out of the parking lot and we were offered bottled water and breakfast bars as our guide went over the rules and etiquette of the blinds that we would be in. Basically, once we left the bus we were to be as quiet as possible. We would take a short hike to the blinds and once inside silence was essential. In addition, we were to turn off our camera displays and other lights. There was a port-a-potty should the need arise with the admonition to use it when we first arrived or just before we left. Once in the blind, we were to remain in place and stay as quiet as possible.
Once we arrived at our location we had to leave the road we were on and drive overland down to the river where the blinds were located. Did you know that buses make pretty good four-wheel drive vehicles even though they are only rear-wheel drive? Their high clearance helps. Anyway, the ride down to the river was a little rough, adding to the sense of adventure. Once we arrived at our destination we disembarked and hiked, maybe a quarter of a mile, through the trees to the blinds. The guides split our group evenly between two blinds. Once everyone was inside the guides came through one more time to confirm that everyone was ready.
Silence descended over the group as we waited for sunrise. We could hear the calls of the cranes as we waited. It was much louder than I expected. We would have needed to raise our voices if we had wanted to talk over the din. Our cameras and tripods were all set up, ready to go. Now we had a decision to make. We had brought our 200-600mm lenses to get closeups, but it was dark outside. The lenses had a variable f/ stop of 5.6 to 6.3. I would have needed to increase the ISO past a point that I was comfortable with. I finally settled on my 50mm f/1.4 Canon lens. The photos would be much wider but I wouldn’t need such a high ISO. Remember, it is dark and no lights are allowed so finding and changing my lenses was all done by touch. Talk about needing to be familiar with your equipment!
Sandhill Cranes Roosting Before Sunrise - photo by Steve Eckes
Once I was all situated it was time to sit, wait and listen to the cacophony. We were probably there for about 30 minutes before dawn started to lighten the sky. If it was possible everyone became even quieter. No one moved, anticipating the first cranes to rise from the river. And rise they did. When there was enough light to make out the reeds on the ground in front of us, the cranes all took off. All at once. Thousands of birds taking flight all at the same time. The river was empty within minutes of the flight starting. The huge flock circled the river a couple of times and were gone. Heading out to the fields to start bulking up for the trip north.
I see I have rambled on. That is a bit strange for me. I usually strive for more words to fill out a blog post. Not today. I am going to quit here. I will reread this in the morning and see if it still makes sense then decide if I want to shorten it and include the rest of the day in the narrative or continue with a part two. I wonder what I will do?
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