{"id":9110,"date":"2021-04-02T22:32:23","date_gmt":"2021-04-03T05:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matchgrun.com\/blog\/?p=9110"},"modified":"2021-04-02T22:32:26","modified_gmt":"2021-04-03T05:32:26","slug":"visit-to-monte-vista-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matchgrun.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/02\/visit-to-monte-vista-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Visit To Monte Vista, part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The second morning in Monte Vista, we made sure to arrive at the ponds in the wildlife refuge well before sunrise. I made this image just before the sun rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2557-0002-Sunrise-Over-Sangre-De-Cristo-Mountains\"
Sunrise Over Sangre De Cristo Mountains.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

During this visit, I attempted to make several images of cranes in flight. I managed to track this single crane from the time that it left the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2556-0120-Sandhill-Crane-In-Flight-No-2\"
Sandhill Crane, In Flight, No 2.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I made several images of this crane. In the following image, the rising sun lit up the underside of the wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2556-0126-Sandhill-Crane-In-Flight-No-3\"
Sandhill Crane, In Flight, No 3.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We spent more time at the ponds later in the morning to watch the coots and other birds. Periodically, the coots started chasing one another across the water. Perhaps this was a territorial dispute? Or a courting ritual? As they scoot across the water, the coots leave a trail of water spray behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2556-0178-Coots-Chasing-Monte-Vista-NWR\"
Coots Chasing, Monte Vista NWR.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The calls of the Red-Winged Blackbirds rang out across the ponds. In this image, four males were perched in a nearby tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2556-0235-Red-Winged-Blackbirds-In-Tree-Monte-Vista-NWR\"
Red-Winged Blackbirds In Tree, Monte Vista NWR.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The ponds are lined with plenty of cat tails, so I had to make some images and included here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2556-0263-Cat-Tails-Alongside-The-Pond\"
Cat Tails Alongside The Pond.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Red-Winged Blackbirds typically perch on cat tails. From here they make their distinctive calls. Most of the birds were males; the female birds had not arrived at the ponds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2556-0290-Red-Winged-Blackbird-On-Cat-Tail\"
Red-Winged Blackbird On Cat Tail.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Here is another image of the sunrise above the ponds. Luckily there were Canada Geese flying past at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2557-0005-Sunrise-Over-The-Ponds-Monte-Vista-NWR\"
Sunrise Over The Ponds, Monte Vista NWR.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The sun was obscured by clouds soon after this. There was less light when the last of the cranes flew out. This required a slower shutter speed that blurred the movement of the flying birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2557-0037-Cranes-In-Flight\"
Cranes In Flight.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We made our way back to the hotel, checked out, and headed back home after a welcome break.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The second morning in Monte Vista, we made sure to arrive at the ponds in the wildlife refuge well before sunrise. I made this image just before the sun rose. During this visit, I attempted to make several images of cranes in flight. I managed to track this single crane from the time that it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[498,1759,1362,1360,89,1457,426,1697,425,1758,34,306],"class_list":["post-9110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-general","tag-birds","tag-cat-tails-2","tag-flight","tag-monte-vista","tag-mountains","tag-nwr","tag-ponds","tag-red-winged-blackbird","tag-sandhill-cranes","tag-sangre-de-cristo","tag-sunrise","tag-water"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t