Started out on the road just outside of Stevensville, where a friend has been seeing a Snipe, although usually much later in the day. I did not see it, but did get to photograph a female Wood Duck in the exact same location I shot the male a few weeks ago. This leads me to believe they must have a nest in there somewhere.
While I was watching the Wood Duck, I heard the call of a Sandhill Crane that sounded like it was coming from back in the trees; although they prefer the open grassland or marsh. I continued on down the road, carefully scanning the open fields and cattails for any sign of a crane, when an older gentleman in a pickup truck heading the opposite direction flagged me down. He asked if I was bird watching, and when I replied that I was, he said there was a crane “down next to the old barn”. I thanked him and headed in that direction. As I approached the barn I slowed and again carefully watched for the crane. Then suddenly as I passed a row of shrubs that lined an old road to the barn, there it was – right alongside the road! It peeked out at me from behind the shrub, and I very slowly approached it (in my car). When I got to within a reasonable distance I began shooting photos. The bird cooperated fully, strolling through the grass in the bright sunshine so that I was able to get several dozen photos, before wandering away from the road toward the barn.
After I left the crane, I headed to the ponds to see what was there, and was tickled to see a small flock of Wilson’s Phalaropes at the edge of the water near the road. These are odd little birds, in the way that they feed. They spin around and around and around in one place, stirring up the water, then drill in the water like a woodpecker, snatching up whatever tiny morsels surface within their personal whirlpool. It almost made me dizzy watching them all!
Along with the Phalaropes there were Northern Shovelers, Green-winged Teals, Cinnamon Teals, a Gadwall or two, and a Great Blue Heron wading through the shallow water, hunting for its dinner. I had a good vantage point and got several nice photos of the Heron until someone else drove up and stopped directly in front of it, scaring it away. It flew to the larger pond just beyond the visitor center. I pulled forward to get a good angle and continued photographing it. It crouched very low in the water, its neck stretched out and its head held sideways. In this seemingly painful position it continued its search for supper. Suddenly it began scurrying across the water – half running on its long gangly legs and half flying; flapping its wings awkwardly. As I continued shooting it shot its neck out like a spear, plunged its head into the water and came up with a perch that any respectable fisherman would have been proud to land! I ended up with a sequence of about 12 photos to document this. SCORE again!
I’ve been so fortunate the past few weekends to be able to photograph these amazing wild creatures. I think I need to leave some sort of offerings to the photo gods!
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