A couple of weeks ago, we made a birding trip to Monte Vista to do some birding. At this time of the year, Sandhill Cranes stop over at the wildlife refuge on their return trip to summer nesting grounds. For the first morning, we were out at the ponds to view the cranes and geese fly out. Many birds typically roost at these ponds during the night. We found this pair of Canada Geese hanging out on the ice at the edge of the ponds. I managed to capture one bird flapping its wings.
American Coots may also be found in the ponds. Later in the morning, they may be found feeding in the ponds. Frequently, several coots spar with one another. This is a common sight that I have found at this location over several years. Here is one image from a sequence of images that I captured from one sparring pair.
During the course of the day, Sandhill Cranes fly over the wildlife refuge. Here is one image of a single goose in flight.
Sandhill cranes spend winter further south along the Rio Grande in New Mexico. During later winter and early spring, they head north to their summer feeding and nesting grounds. The wildlife refuge is one feeding location where they stop during their journey. Here is a single crane moving while grazing in the fields.
The cranes typically roost for the night where there is water, either at these ponds, or at other ponds in the refuge. This offers some safety against predators, such as coyotes, during the night. Soon after dawn, the cranes fly out in family groups to feeding grounds where they spend much of the daylight hours. Sandhill Cranes generally pair for life. Occasional single birds (with no partners) will also fly out. In this image, I captured a single bird when it called out soon after taking flight.
Early during the first morning, there was little wind. However, during the course of the day, strong winds developed during the day and persisted for the remaining two days that we spent in Monte Vista. Here is typical family group of a pair of cranes in flight that I capture during our first day, when the cranes were moving between feeding grounds in the refuge.
Here is another single crane in flight between feeding grounds on the first day.
During early March, the annual Sandhill Crane Festival takes place in Monte Vista. We typically visit the refuge either before or after the festival, to avoid the crowds and to find reasonable accommodation. We had really strong winds during the middle and end of the days we spent in Monte Vista. However, the weather forecast for the festival days included snow!