Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

These western meadowlarks were seen on two separate occasions, once on March 31st, 2012 in the morning, and once on April 7th, 2012 in the morning. They were both spotted at Bobcat Ridge in Colorado. I have taken to using a Swarovski scope and my iPhone to take pictures of birds at a distance (lending to the less crisp look of these photos). I like the way I can snap up close pictures from far away, using what I already have. The only tricky part is positioning the iPhone camera lens at just the right distance to take a clear picture. I then crop the photos and place a filter in them using the Instagram app. Back to the meadowlark. The most distinguishing feature of the western meadowlark is its call, which you can listen to here. You can also read more about this bird here. You can learn about scopes here, and more about Instagram here.

Whooping Crane (Grus americana): International Crane Foundation

Whooping Crane (Grus americana) at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI.

Whooping Crane (Grus americana) at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI.

Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI.

Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI.

Whooping Crane (Grus americana) at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI.

Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI.

Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI.

 I saw these cranes at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, WI in the fall of 2011. The ICF has pairs of all the cranes there are in the world (there are 15 species). Whooping cranes are endangered species, and the ICF has successfully helped with the conservation efforts. The ICF had a viewing area where visitors to the center could observe the whooping cranes, and the cranes did not disappoint. As soon as we entered into the viewing area they started running back and fort, dancing. I took all these pictures with my iPhone, and I think that they look really good because the viewing area was designed spectacularly. I have a video of them doing their dance, but I am having trouble uploading it. Updates later. In the meantime, you can read more about these cranes here and here. You can read more about the ICF here, and see the other posts from my visit here.

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

I saw this flock of sandhill cranes in Albuquerque, New Mexico twice- once on Saturday, February 4th, and once on Sunday, February 5th, 2012. They were at the Rio Grande Nature Center. I had gone there both times looking for a greater roadrunner with no success (reminiscent of the wood duck incident of 2011). The flock of cranes was a nice surprise. I had only seen these birds one other time, in a field near the Ski-Hi Fruit Farm in Baraboo, Wisconsin last year. I had just left the International Crane Foundation, and it was nice to have seen a flock in the wild, but it was too far away for any close observation. While this sighting didn't add any birds to my life list, it did add a photo op and some video footage of them to my collection.

The sandhill crane is one of two cranes we have in North America, the other being the whooping crane. Sandhill cranes like to winter in New Mexico, and they can often be found in large numbers there during the winter. You can read more about these cranes here, and more about the Rio Grande Nature Center here.

Pictures with Birds: Me + Mallard Chicks (Anas platyrhynchos)

Lake Mendota, University of Wisconsin-Madison, September 2, 2011.

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum): the International Crane Foundation

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum): at the International Crane Foundation

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum): at the International Crane Foundation. The crane is dancing.

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum): at the International Crane Foundation

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum): at the International Crane Foundation. The crane is dancing.

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum): at the International Crane Foundation. Here the crane has its feathers puffed out, I think in an aggressive response to me approaching it. This could also be a part of the crane's dance.

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum): at the International Crane Foundation. Here the crane is in the same positon, but with its feathers down.

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum): at the International Crane Foundation

This crane was amusing to watch. Not shy, it liked to dance when humans approached, an aggressive behavior. Like the cormorant and the pelican, this crane has a gular sac that it inflates to make its call. This crane is very similar to the black-crowned crane, and has a really pretty combination of cream and brown feathers.

I was able to capture video of this bird dancing. Even though you might want to expand the video to make it larger, it is best viewed at the size that it is posted here.

You can read more about the grey-crowned crane here and here.

Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus): the International Crane Foundation

 Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus): at the International Crane Foundation

 Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus): at the International Crane Foundation

 Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus): at the International Crane Foundation

 Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus): at the International Crane Foundation

The blue crane looks pretty cute because it has a thin neck, as compared to the width of its head. There was a lady standing next to me when I was observing this crane, and she mentioned something about it being cute because it was fish-like. I'm not sure what she was getting at with that comment, but I agree that it is cute. The blue crane can be found in southern Africa. Sadly, there were many other cranes with more conspicuous behavior so I don't really have much more to add about the experience of seeing this crane. Given that, you can read more about this crane here and here.

Black-Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina): International Crane Foundation

I recently had the opportunity to visit the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI, and this is the first of a series of posts featuring cranes. The ICF has all of the species of cranes from around the world, so the black-crowned cranes were in good company.

The black crowned crane is found on the continent of Africa, and this is one of two species of crane that can perch in trees (the other one being the similar grey-crowned crane). Apparently it is also popular to keep these cranes domesticated at houses in Africa. This could explain why I saw this crane (I think it was this species and not the grey-crowned crane...think) respond to a man that walked up to where the bird was being kept. He called it by name and it came running out of a shelter towards him and was very responsive to the presence of this man. The best I could figure is that the man was local and had been coming to the bird's cage interacting with it for quite some time.

Unfortunately, most of my pictures of the cranes at the ICF were taken from behind a chain-linked fence with my iPhone, so the pictures aren't the greatest. You can read more about this crane here and here, and more about the International Crane Foundation here.

Black-Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina): at the International Crane Foundation

Black-Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina): at the International Crane Foundation.
The picture has a filter on it from Instagram.

Black-Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina): at the International Crane Foundation