On Monday, November 10, Gordon and I drove up for the annual lighting of Split Rock Lighthouse to commemorate the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. On the way, we took a side trip to Crex Meadows, located in NW Wisconsin, mostly to see the Sandhill Cranes. Thousands of them congregate each fall in preparation for the migration to their winter homes. We arrived around dawn, early enough to catch them leaving their roosting areas, ready to head out to the fields for their morning feed.
There were plenty still in the roosting areas, looking like they’re waiting in line for clearance to take off.
Some flew close enough for individual shots.
This was my sharpest, in-flight shot.
While driving around the refuge, we spotted this hawk in a tree. Gordon identified it as a rough-legged hawk.
After we left the refuge, we came across a lot of the cranes feeding in the surrounding cornfields.
