The rare woodland variant of the sandhill crane

[Randy Stout]

This fellow was imaged several years ago in the spring, out in the Michigan woods. My friend Roy Van Loo had a small vernal pond that he had followed over the years, and we went out for wood ducks. I was pleasantly surprised to see this fellow stride out of the woods to browse around the pond. Not the usual habitat for his kind.
I liked the play of the direct, early morning light on the bird, and the subdued but colorful blue/green background in the shade.

D4 600VR f/7.1 1320s ISO 1600. Shot from a camouflaged sled blind that I dragged through the woods to the site.

Post: Originally landscape orientation. Cropped from the right. Selective sharpening.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Juan Tolentino]

Really nice frame Randy, It looks stunning on my screen. Nice colors, HA, details and background. The thumbnail doesn't do any justice to this beauty. I think that it may improve removing some BK noise, but obviously you decided not to do it. Thank you for sharing.

[Doug Brown]

Love the detail Randy! I don't recall seeing a Crane with that much orange on it, but of course I only see them in the wintertime.

[Glenn Pure]

What a wonderful image, Randy. Beautiful detail and wonderful colours on the bird contrasting nice with the blues and greens of the background. Lovely tonal range across the bird too.

[William Dickson]

Great looking frame Randy. Love the colours and fab detail on the bird. Nice pose and HA.

Will

[Isaac Grant]

That is one bizarre looking loon you captured Randy :t3 Sweet light and I love the way it shows against that killer background. I agree with Doug re the color and don't think I've ever seen such a colorful one. Could that be from the warm light or its natural?

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hey Randy, I have never seen a Sandhill Crane this color before. New arrivals to Florida are dark bleaching to solid grey if they stay here long enough, but never reddish. I wonder if this bird took a dust bath in reddish earth. Anyways, techs spot on as always. Thank you for sharing.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Much appreciated.

The orange color comes from the mud they use to preen their feathers with. If the mud contains iron, it tends to give them the rusty/ orange color. The color was strengthened by the early morning light in this case.

Cheers

Randy

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent head shot with excellent quality and colors, I had never seen orange on a SHC before either but your explanation makes sense

TFS

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Wonderful Shot. I love the detail and the sharp eye.

Thanks for sharing.