Tuesday, January 18, 2011

End to a Perfect Day

This evening we headed east past Dragoon into the Sulphur Springs Valley to hopefully watch the moon rise and photograph the Sandhill Cranes settling in for the night. An estimated three to four thousand of these migratory birds feed here this time every year.


The moon did rise as expected but it was way too early for the birds. Hopefully they're still feeding in the agricultural fields near by. If the cranes are still here, they should show up soon to reach the safety of near by water, where the coyotes can't get to them tonight.

A few early birds are starting to show themselves. Their 7 foot wingspan makes them easy to see, even more than a mile away.

The sun is setting behind us now, they're starting to show up in larger numbers. Pleease, pleease, fly near the moon!

What a thrill, here they come, right by the moon in a triangular formation! They're coming in from all directions too, each one making their own unique call.


Ignoring the moon for a moment, we could also see the small double peak on the right side of this mountain top which gives Dos Cabezas, Arizona its name.

2 comments:

  1. Love, love, love that first moon picture. Spectacular! K

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  2. Thanks Kathy. We both thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon experience as much as anything we've done so far. When we both worked 50+ hours a week there was never any time left to be in right place at the right time to take that photo. It felt great to have the time to plan and be ready for it.

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