Sandhill cranes, which can be seen near the Rio Grande, seem to pose for photographs

Amateur photographer Sandy Corless often watches sandhill cranes in Albuquerque’s Rio Grande bosque or at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro and wonders: “What’s on their playlist?”

The cranes, which grace portions the Rio Grande valley from November through February are some of Corless’ favorite subjects.

“They are such social creatures,” Corless says of the birds, which can be 4 feet tall with a wingspan of 6 feet. “They have a way of almost letting humans into their lives…a bird you can connect with.”

	Photo tips Amateur photographer Sandy Corless offers the following tips for getting good pictures of sandhill cranes – or any other bird: 4 Know your equipment. Learn about settings on the camera for specific conditions such as sunsets and landscape shots. 4 Learn about crane behavior so you can anticipate their actions. 4 Keep the sun behind you and point your shadow at the bird -you can be as much as much as 90 degrees from the line created by the sun, your head and the bird and still get a pretty good photograph. 4 Most birds will land and take off into the wind, so photograph a landing or a take-off with your back to the wind.

Corless has been taking photographs of sandhill cranes for nearly 15 years, and she is always captivated by their behavior. Often, she will simply watch the cranes for long periods of time, not even pulling out her camera.

The cranes that stop in New Mexico for the winter almost seem to know they’re going to be photographed, she says. And they don’t seem to mind.

“From what I have read, this is not typical. They seem to be more tolerant of humans being close to them here,” she says.

She says New Mexicans have unique opportunities to observe the cranes at a relatively close range in the metro area along the river from Corrales to Los Poblanos Fields, a North Valley agricultural area owned and managed by the Open Space Division. Bosque del Apache, though, is truly a world-class location to photograph cranes.

The refuge was formed in 1939 with a primary mission to provide habitat for the dwindling population of sandhill cranes wintering in the valley. The winter after the refuge was established, a survey found just 17 cranes. Now, some 11,000 cranes winter at the refuge, with thousands more along the Rio Grande south of Belen.

Bosque del Apache offers what Corless calls “astounding access” to the birds. The layout of the access areas not only provide uncluttered background for crane photography, but the light is almost always at the photographer’s back.

“I don’t know if it was by design, but the places where the public has access to watch the birds is almost perfect to get good photographs,” she says.

Corless started taking pictures of cranes as a natural progression from her love of bird watching. She found she wanted to document cranes’ behaviors, and so she took a photography class.

Since then, she’s been going to Bosque del Apache a half-dozen times during the winter months, taking thousands of photographs each trip. She shows her work at local arts and crafts fairs. She also shares what she’s learned through workshops at annual events, such as Socorro’s Festival of the Cranes and the Bird & Bat Festival at the Rio Grande Nature Center.

“A lot of people get intimidated by people with huge lenses,” she says. “But with a little practice, you can get great photos with a nice ‘point and shoot’ (camera).