The Eagle did it

My legs are cold, my feet are slightly numb, my eyes are glued and I am standing in the brisk, Nebraska morning waiting for the sun to rise. Then it happened.

The Eagle did it.

I am standing in a blind with 7 photographers from around the united states, three of which are very talented conservation photographers. Michael Forsberg, Melissa Groo and David Showalter. Three consecutive mornings, we arrived at Rowe Sanctuary at 6 in the morning and hiked about a mile in the dark. The only thing guiding us was the star and moon lit sky, and the enchanting hum of thousands of Sandhill cranes resting on the Nebraska Platte river.

 

We arrive at the blind not making a sound. The only light we use is the red head lights, as cranes cannot see red. We open the windows to the blinds to a beautiful sight that immediately erased any discomfort the weather was causing.

Any disruptive sound or light would awake the cranes.

We all stand frozen, holding our cameras in preparation for the cranes to lift off and start their day of feeding.

The preferable outcome in this situation for a photographer, is the cranes stay standing in the water, not having been disrupted. AS the sun comes up, the warm orange, yellow, and pinks contrast with the blues of the water, the grey of the cranes, and the browns of the Nebraska brush, creating the perfect lighting situation and composition.

But. Nature. The Circle of life. Hakuna Matata.  Long story short, the eagle did it.

Eagles, prey on Sandhill Cranes. Where there are cranes, there are eagles. At the crack of dawn, all three mornings, the eagle swooped down right above the cranes creating a massive explosion of cranes scattered across the multi colored sky.

It’s a phenomenal sensory sensation and experience.  One that simply cannot be explained in words.  Watching Nature run its course and human’s not doing anything but capturing the beauty of it, in a way that does not harm or stress out nature, is something to learn from.

The cameras click, the birds chirp, the cranes dance, the eagles soar, and your whole entire being is reminded that without nature, we cannot exist. So we take it in, capture images, and continue to share the beauty of the nature, and advocate for the wildlife we witnessed.

 

Photos taken by S. Rose Photography. Take care of our planet and love the creatures in it.