One of the iconic sounds of Bosque del Apache and the Rio Grande Valley in November is the sound of Sandhill Cranes calling in flight. You can hear them for miles, often well before you can see them. In fact, it is so distinctive that when I have heard it out of context, I have always immediately recognized it. In Florida, in Texas, and in the few other places where I have encountered Cranes unexpectedly, that call pulls my head up and I scan the sky’s with some confidence of finding Sandhills.

This shot is from our November trip to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. It was taken on our snowy Sunday morning. The light was less than ideal, keeping ISOs high and shutter speeds lower than optimum, but, at the same time there was a good deal of reflected light from the snow to aid in the detail of the underside of wings. Interesting light for birds in flight.

Canon SX50HS at 1200mm equivalent field of view and Sports Mode. ISO 320. This is my second attempt at processing this shot. In Snapseed, I used the HDR Scene filter to pick up detail in the bird, and then some Shadow, Contrast, and Saturation in Tune Image, as well as Sharpen and a bit of Structure in Detail. I cropped out some sky, keeping the bird at the rule of thirds point, leaving the frame. I then applied a bit of Center Focus, centered on the bird. The result, I think, catches the wildness of the bird and the call.