Florida Sandhill Crane Portrait

Florida Sandhill Crane Portrait by Sabrina K. Wheeler... more

by Sabrina K Wheeler

Title

Florida Sandhill Crane Portrait

Artist

Sabrina K Wheeler

Medium

Photograph

Description

Florida Sandhill Crane Portrait by Sabrina K. Wheeler

I captured this Sandhill Crane quite by accident. While driving along a long stretch of road in the Ocala National Forest, near Astor, FL, I saw two of them foraging on a hill in a sandy wooded area. I got out of the car and after a long bit they allowed me to get within feet of them. I kept my body and head lower than their height and read -large bird body language - to best gauge my behavior. This was captured just before a warning ensued. I was very grateful not to be speared and humbled to be allowed to continue my shoot.

The Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis- Florida is G. c. pratensis) is a large crane in USA. What is so incredibly interesting about Sandhill cranes is that they have one of the longest fossil records of any bird still found today! The oldest fossil is 2.5 million years old, older by half than the earliest remains of most living species of birds found 1.8 million years ago. They have red foreheads, white cheeks and long dark pointed bills and stand around 4 feet high. They are social birds that usually live in pairs or family groups. In Florida, most sandhill crane populations are threatened by habitat destruction and the American crocodile and alligator, particularly the little fledglings.

It is an honor for Florida Sandhill Crane Portrait to be featured in the following Fine Art America Gallery Groups:

~Bird Watchers - Photography Only
~Women Who Run With the Wolves
~All About Nature
~Bird Watchers
~Nature Landmarks Landscapes Wildlife
~Florida Water Birds-Shore Birds
~FAA Portraits-Birds
~FAA Portrait Gallery
~Images That Excite You!
~ Funny Animal Photography
~Wildlife ONE A DAY

Uploaded

August 19th, 2015