Jan. 13, Tuesday. What a great opportunity to see an annual migration event of Sand Hill Cranes. Five of us from the RV park, Doug & I, Steve, Kathy, & Nancy, headed to Wilcox, AZ, about an hour and a half’s drive southeast of Tucson. We were going out to see the Sand Hill Cranes on the lake at Wilcox. There is an annual birding and nature festival in January each year. It lasts for about a week, but we wanted to avoid the crowds because photographers come from all over. This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the festival. It was a wonderful blue sky day with lots of fluffy clouds. We set out for WIlcox thinking the lake just outside the city would be the best viewing area. We were way out in the middle of farmland and saw a group of cranes feeding. So, of course we had to pull over. You can drive all over the area at different times and locations to see the cranes feed.
We reached the trailhead to the lake, not realizing it was a 2.4 mile hike round trip! I felt like the Wednesday hike had been moved up a day! The trail was really a dirt road. But the walk was good for us and we were expecting great things at the lake. Being out under such pretty sky was just as exciting and rewarding as seeing cranes! It was so gorgeous out there!
When we reached the end of the trail, we were really disappointed because it stopped at a viewing area and signs everywhere said we could not leave the trail to get closer to the lake. I did remember seeing a small sign on a post that said “cranes may not be at the lake”. All that way and then no cranes! At least we got some exercise! Then just as we were ready to leave, we must have startled a group hidden in the brush because we did see a group fly up and over us. Then another group flew over us as we headed back down the trail. That was a nice sight!
We had heard there was an even better place to see the cranes, so we changed our game plan. The freedom to to do that when needed is all part of the adventure! Since it was already noon, we decided to head into Wilcox for lunch, get a little bit more information, and have lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Good food and good company!
It was confirmed that Whitewater Draw was the place to be by 4:00 PM and stay until sunset to get the best view of cranes. The draw is a very large lake and swamp area where the cranes take off each morning at dawn, return around noon, & leave and return at sunset. The Draw is about 40 miles south of Wilcox and we were all willing to go since we had driven so far from Tucson. Lo and behold, there was a large parking area with a huge covered space and restrooms. Some people were even dry camping in their motorhomes and 5th wheels. Guess they were going to make sure they didn’t miss any cranes! That was the right place and wished we had gone there first, had we known! As soon as we parked, you could see several hundred cranes along the edge of our side of the lake. It was cold and windy but worth it to see so many cranes all together and their constant chatter was very loud! You could hear it all around the lake. We didn’t see the thousands we expected, but that was alright. We still found what we were looking for. The third picture shows a view of what the lake area was like.
Our friend, Steve, was trying out his new camera, so he got a nice shot of some cranes in the air. Some of our pictures were a bit blurred because of the wind shaking our tripods, so I gave up and just shot trying to hold my camera still. Plus, after awhile, darker clouds rolled in, so the lighting just wasn’t that good for the shots we all wanted.
The lake had a levee that allowed us to walk far out on the lake for even more views of the cranes on the opposite shore. There were even more groups of hundreds of the cranes and even some Snow Geese. As it got later in the evening, small flocks would fly in to land and one or two cranes would fly right over top of where I was standing. Brrr…..rr! It sure was cold standing out here in the open at the far end of the levee as the sun went behind the clouds and Kathy and I were determined to stick it out until sunset.
The late afternoon sun gave the cranes a pretty golden hue. Then just as we decided it was time to head back to the truck, the sun dropped below the clouds and just above the mountains to give me this awesome shot in the second picture! The sun turned the swamp grass to a beautiful gold with reflections in the water of the remaining blue sky and clouds. It was sure worth being out there for this shot! It is exactly as it was with no adjustments and no polarizer, just natures natural perfect moment.
Wow! What a way to end a great day with a ‘Kodak Moment’! It was dark as we drove home, but everyone kept remarking about what a fun day we had together.
Beautiful photos.
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