About ten to thirteen thousand sandhill cranes winter at the Bosque del Apache refuge in central New Mexico.   They roost in ponds, where they are reasonably safe from terrestrial predators, and disperse to fields and pastures to feed during the day.  I photographed these cranes at several areas throughout the Refuge.

• Canon 1D Mk. II, 500 mm IS lens plus 1.4X or 2X converter; bottom right image with both converters combined (2005)