Sand Hill Cranes

[Mike Yonts]

Hi Redusers,

Indiana is fortunate to be on the migration route of some sand hill cranes, who make their trip south at this time every year. I got some shots of them on my Red One (original Mysterium sensor) with my RPP 300 a couple of weeks ago. It was a great way to try out Alchemy in RCX Pro, because it was overcast early in the day, and the birds didn't necessarily stand out from the background that well on their own. I shot at 24, 50, and 100 fps, so this is a mix of 4K, 3K, and 2K origination.

I'm really looking forward to going back with my Epic, but I'm not sure if the birds will still be coming through this year when I get my Stage 3. If not, they'll be back in the spring!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii8-yMywWFk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[Elsie N]

Mike,

I'm normally at the bottom end of their winter migration route. That is, they often over-winter here locally in West Texas. In a normal year the sky will almost turn black when a large flock rises in unison to change feeding pastures or move to a place of safety for roosting at one of the many dry-bed salt lakes dotting the area. This year, however, is one where small groups of five or six are often the norm due to an historic drought. There's just nothing for them to eat since no crops were planted due to the dryness and no waterholes contain water. It's been the worst year on record and even has cities that have never run out of water before turning to reclaiming waste water and even drilling deep (into the Santa Rosa formation, I think) to bring up salt water for desalinization.

It's interesting how your footage has the cranes showing a little more brownish than the ones I remember which appeared almost always to be from a light to dark shade of gray. Perhaps a grading choice?... or possibly a different group of cranes that may migrate further east to Florida, and thus, a different diet affecting plumage color.

At any rate, thanks for posting. While cranes here in large bunches would often dance briefly, your footage has lots of prolonged dancing. I'm gonna miss that spectacle during our indeterminate length of ongoing drought.

 

[Mike Yonts]

Thanks Elsie,

The grade is definitely part of it–I goosed the chroma partly to make the birds show up a little better, and partly just because I liked the way it looked. They do have a sort of brown tint, from what I've read, not just because of pigment but also because they spend time in mud and dirt.

It's really sad to hear about how your drought has affected them. For the sake of the birds and the people, I hope you guys get some rain soon!

Mike

 

[Stephen Pruitt]

Very nice footage!!!

Stephen