28 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2016
animals that journey in large numbers.
All incoming cranes were going to
do was look for the birds already on
the water, then continue to land
beside them, over and over, building
their numbers forever east in our
direction.
If my plan was correct, we'd have
birds right on top of us.
The other men, in turn, chose to
occupy the remaining two blinds,
confident that their two-for-one
strategy would provide the best plan
for their photos.
We ducked into our straw-bottomed,
four-wall blind that was definitely a
head splitter if you stood up too fast.
Portal holes were in all directions,
easily opened and closed by a 6-year-
old, and the action was immediate.
Flock after flock flew by our
blind, filling the sky with their forms
and their sounds. The scene was
mesmerizing. I bounced back and forth
between both of my cameras, unable
to decide at times between long lenses
and wide angles, finally just turning to
Madeline, handing her a camera, and
saying "Do your best."
We shot the rest of the afternoon and
into the evening as the cranes stair-
stepped each other in our direction. By
this time, I was shooting with both still
cameras and Madeline was videoing
the birds with our iPad. In the frenzy,
as birds careened across the sky from
all directions, I heard a little voice
beside me: "Daddy, I love you."
It was unannounced and unprovoked.
Sandhill cranes leave the Platte River in front of the Crane Trust blind to feed in nearby crop fields.
