Sandhill Cranes: A life-changing experience

Everyone on the deck was gathering up gear to leave. Steve and I looked at each other and knew that we had seen something that moved us.

- BRUCE MCCAMMON

If there is one bird that is responsible for my interest in birds and bird photography, it is the Sandhill Crane.

My interest in photography goes back to my youth. I scanned photo magazines for dramatic landscapes and adventures.

I remember seeing a very dramatic photo of a large group of big birds flying over a marsh against a blazing sunrise in New Mexico. Years later that photo still resided in my memory.

I learned that the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is famous for seasonally large numbers of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese.

I found more photos of thousands of birds erupting from ponds at sunrise and decided that I wanted to see that event. Doing so changed my life.

My friend, Steve, went with me to the Bosque del Apache NWR one cold January morning. We knew where we wanted to be at sunrise thanks to available information provided by the refuge.