It was that stretch of road on Hwy 47 between Black Creek and Langstad when it all happened... That is where the waters from the springtime rains overflowed the banks of Black Creek and White Lake, turning the surrounding basins into a marshy field. Abundant wildlife thrives there in the mid evening hours as the sun starts to drift toward the horizon. Armed with a camera while eyes were wide open, gazing over the farm fields.
"Crane!" Tender Heart called out as she slammed on the brakes of the car. Tires spit gravel as she wheeled the white Chevy around for a better view...
Sure enough, a pair of Sandhill Cranes were grazing on cultivated corn in a farm field. Standing at about 38 inches tall and with the wingspan of almost seven feet, the Sandhill Crane is one of the largest birds in North America. After seeing so many crane in these parts, it is hard to believe that this elegant bird was once endangered in the 1940's. Because of human intervention, the crane has thrived and flourished... It still remains endangered in several states.
While snapping away at the crane, Tender Heart taps me on the shoulder, "Sweetheart, I just saw something big fly into that tree over there". I saw it, but I wasn't sure what is was... "Probably a raven or a hawk, but let's take a better look", I whispered. We crept forward. I could hear the sound of crunching gravel under the wheels of the car. The humongous bird flew from the oak tree with a black bird chasing it. It was a Bald Eagle! I clearly saw the white head and tail as it turned around flew towards us, its seven and a half foot wingspan kissing the sky. The raptor then swooped down to about 200 feet away from us, snatching a Red-winged Blackbird with its massive talons. Somehow, the black bird managed to get dropped and fell to the ground as the magnificent bird of prey flew to its roost. This is where I took this snapshot...
Excited and satisfied with the series of photos (even though the traffic was blasting past us), we headed back on the road. We had a couple of more hours of travel ahead of us. We didn't even get more than a couple of miles before I called out,"Turkey!" On my side of road there were a dozen or so Eastern Wild Turkey in an unplowed farm field. Some of these gobblers were engaged in a courtship display trying to impress the hens. With their puffed up feathers, tails fanned out and wings dragging, they were so engaged in what they were doing that they barely even noticed us.
Just behind the turkeys, we noticed a White Tailed Deer foraging in the field. It was that time of the year that we couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe, for its antlers hasn't grown in yet. Mammals by nature, are more skittish than birds. To get a close up shot of our beautiful state animal was nearly impossible, even with my Sony DSC-H2 camera. To complicate matters, the animal was trotting off to the woods intending to get out of sight. After a short chase, I managed to get a shot of it glancing at us, just before it stepped out of sight....
We didn't get to our destination till WAY after nightfall, by then we have seen more turkey and deer along the way. It was worth it....
No comments:
Post a Comment