It must be Sandhill Crane Day, because the cranes were
everywhere! I counted 14 of them in all,
only two that were close enough to the road for decent photos - but hey, I’ll
take ‘em! 
The Osprey are back!
Got some great shots of a pair of them on the nest in the old snag, a few
shots of them mating. Man, that looks
tricky with those big old talons… There is still a
goose on the nesting platform at the west end of the big pond.
I got a few shots of a Great Blue Heron landing in the top of one
of the pine trees where the rookery is, and a few Coots - yes, I said
Coots. Those stupid little birds that
seem to be just everywhere. But what the hell, there wasn’t much else
there.
Lots of Canada Geese, and the Trumpeter Swans are gone. I suspect they’ve taken to the back ponds,
where they won’t be disturbed during nesting season. Not many Red-Winged
Blackbirds yet but the ones that were there are fiercely displaying. 
Marsh Wrens are all over the place. I finally got some really good shots of those
little devils. Even though they’re
plentiful, they’re so tiny that they’re difficult to spot. I listen for the first, and then look for
movement in the cattails. Then if I can follow them with my eyes I at least
have a chance of a photo or two. The tricky part is finding them with the lens.
But I was lucky today - one of the little guys perched right in front of me,
and stayed there for quite some time. 
I was really surprised not to see a single Yellow-headed
Blackbird, and not much in the way of ducks. 
Ahhh, the photo gods were with me today - it was a great day of shooting! 