Ballard Loc: Grass Valley, California

I went for a short walk today not too far from the RV camp I've been visiting, to my surprise I found these guys walking around. I think they are sandhill cranes, I didn't realize that they visit the Sierra Nevada mountains. Most of the time they had there heads down (I think they were feeding the on the multitude of grasshoppers in the field) and I had to wait for them to look up every now and then to get their picture. These shots where taken just outside of Blairsden Calif at ~ 4300 ft elevation with a canon 500mm F4.0 lens and cropped a bit to bring them in closer. All questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.

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CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

They look like everyday Sandhill cranes, except the color. Nice portrait for the final. One google response for 'red sandhill cranes' included the comment: The reason for the change in color is that sandhill cranes preen themselves by rubbing mud on their feathers. The mud can be either brown or red but is usually red up here in the north. We have lots of iron rich soils in this region [Wisconsin]. The feathers soak up the mud's color just like a sponge and it lasts for a long time.

Ballard Loc: Grass Valley, California

Hi CHG_CANON.
Thanks for the info. The Sierra's have a lot of iron also, that would explain their color.

gjgallager Loc: North Central CT & Space Coast Florida

Very common in Florida, but not in that coloring. Greg.

Ballard Loc: Grass Valley, California

Hi gigallager
This is the first time I had seen this type of bird here. But then again I may have just missed seeing them in the past. Thanks for checking out the pictures.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Very nice. I learned something today.

Ballard Loc: Grass Valley, California

Hi kpmac
Thanks for checking out the photo. I seem to learn something new everyday myself.