I captured this image at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, Florida. The crane is this image was one of a pair. I didn't see them until they had flown past. I watched them make a sharp turn and fly to land about five feet away from me, squacking as cranes do when they meet each other. The year before Dottie and I encounterd two adult cranes with two colts in the parking lot at Circle B. Cars were coming and going so with outstretched arms we slowly guided them from the parking lot alot a concrete walkway and gravel path to the marsh/wetland areas. They moved off into the wild area of the marsh to not be seen again. When seeing how these cranes acted Dottie suggested that they might be either the colts from the previous year or the adult pair landing because they recognized me. Don't know, will never know but an interesting thought. The birds were so close the only image I could capture was to go for a head shot. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.
Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED image captured at 180mm
1/500 F/8 Matrix Metering EV 0 ISO 140 AWB HH
Post processed in Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC 2018
Cropped for composition and presentation
