This Black Friday instead of waiting in line at big box stores and bumping elbows with frantic Christmas Shoppers I decided to spend the morning birding in the Crex Meadows Wildlife Refuge north of Grantsburg, WI. Since it is almost December and reports of Snowy Owls were pouring in from all over the state I was really excited about the opportunity to find one of the winter seasons most majestic birds.
However, my plans were altered when I pulled over to scan for early morning Short-eared owls near the Main Dike Rd. As soon as I opened my car door and stepped into the cool morning air the calls of thousands of Sandhill Cranes filled my ears. I darted back into my car and drove with the windows wide open turning in whichever direction the calls seemed louder. Soon I found myself just a bit north of Phantom Lake and smack dab in the middle of thousands of Cranes, hundreds of Geese, and even some Trumpeter Swans.
I quickly set up my camera and spent the next hour and a half waiting for them to all fly directly toward the sunrise at the same time. Unfortunately they weren't that obliging but they did accommodate a few great scenes. The last pan at the end of the video was taken just before I left and was only a small slice of the birds that remained. I have been trying to guess how many were there at first light but really I just have no idea. MANY!!!
However, my plans were altered when I pulled over to scan for early morning Short-eared owls near the Main Dike Rd. As soon as I opened my car door and stepped into the cool morning air the calls of thousands of Sandhill Cranes filled my ears. I darted back into my car and drove with the windows wide open turning in whichever direction the calls seemed louder. Soon I found myself just a bit north of Phantom Lake and smack dab in the middle of thousands of Cranes, hundreds of Geese, and even some Trumpeter Swans.
I quickly set up my camera and spent the next hour and a half waiting for them to all fly directly toward the sunrise at the same time. Unfortunately they weren't that obliging but they did accommodate a few great scenes. The last pan at the end of the video was taken just before I left and was only a small slice of the birds that remained. I have been trying to guess how many were there at first light but really I just have no idea. MANY!!!
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