The story behind the photo, the coyotes and sandhill cranes


Cindy had made a one-night reservation for us at the El Dorado Hotel in Santa Fe. I had the idea that we might see some sandhill cranes while driving past the open fields south of Bernalillo on our way up. I had set up the camera and lens in advance so that if we saw any birds I could jump out of the car and take some photos. Cindy was driving and as we passed the fields she spotted some cranes. I didn't see them at first but got out of the car, grabbed my camera and crossed the road. There was a fence about 20 ft from the road so I couldn't walk too far. I started taking pictures. Cindy also saw a coyote in the field and she tried to point him/her out to me. I could not see it because I don't wear my prescription glasses when birding; they just get in the way. 

I kept snapping pictures and a police woman drove just past me, threw on her lights and then backed up. I walked towards the window and she informed me there is no photography on the reservation. I was aware of this, but totally spaced the fact we were ON reservation land. I answered that I was not aware this was reservation land and I didn't see a sign indicating 'no photography.' At this point I was worried she would ask for my SD card but she didn't; she let me go. I climbed back into the car and Cindy asked me what happened and if I heard her pointing out the coyote. I told her that I had heard her but that I didn't see the coyote. 

We continued on to Santa Fe, stopped to pick up takeout for lunch, and finished our drive to the hotel. We unloaded the car and ate our lunch. Then I popped the SD card out of the camera, inserted it into the laptop, and uploaded the photos. I saw lots of cranes, but no coyote. I asked Cindy to look at the photos; right away she spotted a coyote in one of the pictures! In fact, there are actually two coyotes in a couple of the photos. The coyotes appear and disappear into a shallow ravine, looking like they would like to have a crane for lunch. When they pop out they startle the cranes, who then take flight, which is what is seen in the photos. I was very lucky to capture it. Somehow the pictures I take often have a story similar to this; seems like luck but maybe not. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Capturing birds in flight, a Cooper's hawk, and the process of working to get a 'tack' sharp photo

Image
  Capturing birds in flight like the Cooper's hawk above has been quite an adventure into photography for me. I'm not sure that the average person knows exactly how hard it is to capture a sharp image, but I can tell you it's more difficult than one would think. Initially starting out just shooting birds that were still, I always had the desire to capture birds in flight, the question is: how do you do it? Capturing flying birds has required me to watch quite a few youtube videos and read from a few birding books that I have, hoping that there would be an answer to this question. Having the right camera with the ability to shoot at unbelievably high shutter speeds is a start. My Sony Alpha 6400 seemingly has no end to how fast it can take pictures. However, shutter speed by itself is not the only factor. Something called the 'exposure triangle' is the key. I won't go too much further into this as it can take hours to explain, but these three components involve 1...
Read more

A Northern Goshawk

Image
Goshawks usually reside in the northern United States. When prey is scarce, though, they may be found well to the south of their normal range. A couple of days ago while walking through the open space, I passed by a tree where some birds were making a huge ruckus. I stopped, turned around, and tried to figure out what was causing the birds to be upset. I didn't see the goshawk right away; it was camouflaged almost perfectly against a thick tree branch. The goshawk didn't move, fly away, or alert me in anyway that it was there, but the birds sure knew. Finally I saw it, an eyas (juvenile hawk), which might explain why it didn't fly away, just not experienced yet. The goshawk was not huge by any standard and had beautiful feathers that it was seemingly shedding. Goshawks hunt their prey by putting on short bursts of amazingly fast flight, twisting among branches and crashing through thickets in the intensity of pursuit. They generally mate for life with females laying 2-4 egg...
Read more

A blue Grosbeak

Image
 I rarely see one of these beautiful birds. They are usually found in fields as was the case with this one. Males are blue with two brown wing bars. A mated pair of Grosbeaks usually raise two broods of nestings per year.They build their nests low in small trees, shrubs and tangles in vines. The oldest grosbeak on record was a male who was at least 7 years and two months old when he was captured and re released during banding operation in Virginia.  
Read more