Roughly ten thousand sandhill cranes spend the winter at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico.   Several hundred of them often roost in some small pools along Highway 1 a bit north of the Refuge headquarters, and the light there can be very attractive at dusk.

• Canon 1D Mk. II or 1D3, 24-105 IS lens or 500 mm lens + 1.4X converter (2004, 2007)