Sunset had fallen a few minutes before over the Pixley Wildlife Refuge, in the Central Valley of California. Perhaps a few thousand sandhill cranes, for most of the day searching for food, began arriving over and landing in several pools of water. The cranes would spend the night there, grooming themselves, visiting each other by striding somewhat awkwardly through the water, and making their silly high-pitched honks.

Conditions for photography were difficult, with the wide range in light values making exposure difficult. I think it would have been nice to have a full frame camera with higher ISO capability, or pehaps I need better post-processing skills.