Grosbeaks, Bucks and Cranes (20130630)

With the devastation around town and the surrounding roads we had to figure out another target area, so we headed out looking for critters in Great Grey country. The Swainson's were uncharacteristicly  spooky. We spotted some deer and even one Doe with a fawn, our first of the year so far. We stopped by a pond for a peek and found this pair of Sandhill Cranes feeding in the grasses.

While we were shooting these birds we heard a couple of Sora whinney's. We tried to get some shots but they were too quick, and as it turns out too close! They were very willing to chat with us as well. Our next verbal interruption came from one of these beautiful birds.

There were actually two of these males flitting and singing about, a terrific bird to hear singing. We had a couple of opportunities, with this being the closest we got to the bird. It flew into this shady tree. so the colouration is quite different.

A little while later we found this fine looking Whitetail buck, he will have a nice 10 or 12 point set of antlers.

We also managed to grab a couple of shots of a pair of Solitary Sandpipers, there were a couple of Killdeers in the area as well. It is a shame about haiving to shoot through the barbed wire, it kind of mucks up the reflection.

We found a pair of Whitey's this is a shot of the buck, it was odd to find him with a doe at this time of year, they are usually in small bachelor herds.

A little later we heard another Grosbeak singing and managed to find him in the trees.

I'll wrap up this post with another shot of one of the Sandhill Cranes. These birds are usually found much further north, finding them down here is a great surprize.

It was a terrific morning with a lot to see. Apparently we missed out on some pygmy owls that live in one of the areas, perhaps next time. Here is to a great Wildlife weekend!
Turbo