photoartflightMore Sandhill Cranes From Lake Woodruff NWR, Florida
I am still going through images from Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge on Florida from our trip there. It was nice to see a few Sandhill Cranes as we walked around the Refuge. This pair had a colt (Sandhill Crane chick) with them. We kept a considerable distance from them, but we were surprised they were so non-concerned about our presence there. They just concentrated on foraging in the grasses. I was using my backup camera with a Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens with a 1.4X teleconverter for a focal length of 560mm. So we were not really that close to them. When you see them on the ground it is amazing how large they really are! When you photograph them flying or far off in the distance you know they are large, but seem even bigger when you are closer to them.
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Nice to see the parents with their colt. The last photo is really lovely!
Thanks! It was fun to spend some time photographing them! They did not seem to be bothered by us, but again we were quite far from them. We had not been here for many years and the Landscape still shows the effect of hurricanes many years ago. Many of the trees you see along the trail in the center areas are just toppled in large piles with buzzards hanging out there.
I love the Sandhill Cranes. We haven’t seen any lately in the usual places they can be found near us. So sweet to see the colt. I’m not familiar with this refuge, but since I’m in Florida, I must look it up! Thanks for sharing.
Hi! We only saw 5 while we were there this year. Years ago there were huge flocks of them there. It is a huge Refuge, but does not seem to draw as many visitors as a NWR such as Ding Darling. But in ways I like it better! Years ago we liked photographing the River Otters porpoising in the small lake in the early morning. Also it is a narrow road in to the Refuge Parking and a somewhat small parking lot. So many times you really feel alone there in a really huge Refuge!
We are taking a road trip from Palm Beach County up through Saint Augustine, Savannah and then to Charlotte NC later in the summer. I’ll have to check out the places you mentioned.
These are gorgeous images, Reed, and so love the little colt!
Thanks so much! We have not been to this Refuge for years, so it was fun to get to photograph there!