The cranes that stayed in Corrales over the winter have flown north. Now we are seeing some of the stragglers flying north from areas further south. Every once in a while a group of cranes will circle over our house to gain altitude before continuing north. Cranes that fly in close to sunset roost along the Rio Grande before they continue their journey north at sunrise.
I wasn’t expecting Mr. pT. (Great Blue Heron Pterodactyl) at the beginning of our walk. I had my ISO set at 400, which is a little slow against dark trees at sunset. It’s one thing not to expect the Mr. pT., which I should know better, since I see him almost every night. But I really wasn’t expecting to see Ms pT., so imagine my surprise and excitement when Mr. pT. swooped down and flushed Ms pT. out of the clearwater ditch to do a pterodactyl tango on their way over the bosque to the rio Grande. Part of the challenge is to see if you can find Mr. pT. against the tangle of bare cottonwood branches in the first six photos; and then see if you can find Mr. pT. and Ms pT. in the 7th photo and the last photo.
The cranes that have been foraging in the field north of us have become quite bold, letting me get much closer to them for photos. The cranes will start flying north this month. In the weeks to come there will be few left. All but maybe a few stragglers will be gone by March.
Great Blue Heron at dusk.
Off Center & Not Even 