We holed up in a wildlife blind, awaiting the evening return of sandhill cranes to their roosting haven on the Platte River. As they did, a fascinating visual effect unfolded, thanks to the ever-changing Great Plains sky, impending sunset and a ribbon of intervening cirrus clouds. Both to the eye and to the camera sensor, the sun gave the illusion of dropping through the cirrus deck instead of behind it. Meanwhile the cranes flew by, tooting their call in a growing chorus, soon to number in tens of thousands just within audible range.
2 NW Lowell NE (22 Mar 7) Looking W
40.6711, -98.8852