My next scheduled photographic trip will be to Monte Vista, Colorado for the annual sandhill crane migration during the second week of March 13-15. I normally go there immediately after the Sandhill Crane Festival.

I love making this trip. I try to make it every year. Some years are better than others. The weather is usually cooperative, but the bird totals can fluctuate. The past few years have been better than average though, so I am expecting a good supply of birds this year. I did have one year a few years back where a major winter storm hit the area the week before my scheduled trip and the cold and snowy weather chased a lot of birds out. The remaining moisture saturated the ground and made for a lot of convection distortion. Another year I had a tire failure on my Subaru Outback that cut my trip short. Let me tell you, if you try to find a replacement tire for a Subaru Outback in SW Colorado, good luck. What few tire repair shops are in the area are mostly stocked to replace pickup truck tires.

In a general sense, photographing the birds isn’t all that difficult, if you can get them close enough. The crowds are lower after the festival, but I normally bump into someone I know there. This year I’ll be making the trip with two of my photo buddies, Jim and Tim.

Over the years, I’ve made about 24,000 sandhill crane photos in and around Monte Vista. Many of those photos have been published. The cranes are a surprisingly popular wildlife subject in the photography and tourism press. Here are a few teaser photos from last years’ trip.