Whitewater Draw

Whitewater Draw is just a 45 minute drive from Sierra Vista and is home to about 22,000 wintering Sandhill Cranes.  There is a half mile looped path that is close to parking, easy to walk and has benches along the way, two viewing platforms with telescopes, and close access to see not only cranes but other birds.  Overnight camping is allowed, there are bathroom facilities and a few picnic tables.  There is no fee.  None of us are bird photographers and we don't have any of the long focal length lens that serious birders use.  But, just getting out there and being so close to the cranes, watching them fly in and out by the hundreds, listening to them call, and watching them preen was more than enough for me.

We were already frozen and the sun was just starting to come up.  Temperature was 17º, my hands too cold to set up my camera and then my long lens would not even attempt to focus!!

Looking westward across the pond.

Tom got a few photographs of the cranes leaving.

Len told me that they return in the midday to rest before going back out in the early afternoon.  That approach sounded much more appealing to us.  We returned twice more to watch them come back to the ponds.

This is a good representation of the ponds just before the birds start coming back in.

When the cranes do return they do so in waves, some as many as 100+ birds.

Sand Hill Cranes are not the only bird in the area of the ponds.

I was told by another photographer that brown Sand Hill Cranes are what is found on the East Coast.  Not sure if that is true.  This brown bird looked a bit out of place.

There are two viewing platforms along the route that is easily walked.  

That is not sensor dust.  Those are waves of returning cranes.  They are noisy as they fly in.

There are white geese that rest with the cranes.

An early morning photograph.

I tried so hard to get a good photograph of this Vermilion Flycatcher.  They are FAST!

Steve spotted a hawk.†

'Altogether now!'

Several people mentioned that there were Barn Owls and Horned Owls in the 'barn' a structure near the parking lot.  We only saw this one.  He seemed very at ease with photographers being close by.

If birds are not your thing, there are plenty of other photo-opportunities to keep you busy.

Birds, Birds and 2 Squirrels

Len sent these with the following note of explanation.  "I spent some time at the Eastern Cascades Audubon site in Oregon, this past summer. The site is an old forest camp site called Cabin Lake, although there is no lake. The site has a blind for photographers and a small water feature that attracts the birds. I am sending a picture of the blind and some visitors to the site."

Len's wife suggested a caption for this image.  "If I told you once I told you a hundred times!"

So, who is Jordan?

When Len sends me photographs of birds I always remember my mother's reaction to his images.  She would call me and ask, "How does he get such great captures?  How is it possible that he knows what each of these birds are?"  She would admit to looking at the blog again and again. Mom is gone but there are others that share her sentiment.  We hope you enjoyed these as she would have.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

We love a bridge.  It is right up there with canyons, mountains, waterfalls and baby bears!  When we arrived in the Tampa area we anticipated photographing Clearwater beaches.  But, that quickly became a hassle and a half with crowds of tourists and traffic snarls that rivaled LA.  We retreated!  Our focus changed to photographing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida's "flag" bridge.  Built between 1982 and 1987, the bridge is just a tad over 4 miles long and spans Tampa Bay.  It replaced the old bridge that was damaged by a collision with a large ship.  The old bridge has been turned into the world's longest fishing pier.

There are many approaches to shooting such a long bridge.  To Steve, the best photo was one where both ends were attached to land.  That required a very wide angle lens and a finding a spot from which one could see the whole thing!  We settled, after some research, on two potential places.  Ideally, one would offer a golden hour opportunity.

This angle was taken from De Soto Island.

I believe this photograph was taken from the edge of a rest area just on the south edge before one gets onto the bridge.

There are more interesting things on De Soto Island.  These Fiddler crabs were a wonderful distraction to planning a good golden hour opportunity!

We took in lots of interesting looks.  Not sure all of them are worth sharing, but we sure had fun!

OK!  Just turn your back on me and walk away.