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Accrington Stanley...who are they?


Accrington Stanley...who are they?
Photo Information
Copyright: Alan Turvey (liquidsunshine) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2047 W: 113 N: 3421] (11488)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-08-06
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 20D, Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX APO RF, Hoya skylight (1B)
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/200 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-08-06 12:29
Viewed: 1126
Points: 44
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I spent a couple of hours at Whipsnade this morning. I think this is a new one for TN, a Stanley Crane Chick.

Only a few of you will understand the title, so I apologise for that.

Common Name: Blue Crane or Stanley Crane

Scientific Name: Anthropoides paradisea
Family: Gruidae
Order: Gruiformes
Class: Aves
Range: S. Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho

Habitat: Marshes and grasslands
Description: Forehead to nape of neck white with some gray; fore neck is dark gray with ashy wash; rest of neck gray; lower fore neck and upper breast have long pointed slate gray plumes. Plumage on crown and ears is loose and long. Chin white with some gray, throat dark gray. Rest of body is slate gray. Eyes are dark brown; bill is pinkish yellow, and legs and feet are black. Sexes are alike with females smaller. Wingspan measures 5 to 7 feet. Beak is between 2.5 to almost 3 feet. They reach a height of approximately 43 inches (3.5 feet). Downy young have a buff yellow head and neck and gray back. Immatures are light blue-gray with light chestnut or a tawny color on top of head and sometimes neck.
Life Expectancy: Up to 50 years
Sexual Maturity: 2 to 3 years of age
Diet: Invertebrates, particularly locusts.

Behaviors: Locally, the Stanley crane is migratory. Main concentrations can be found in the upland country in central and eastern South Africa.

The spectacular courtship dance of the Stanley crane begins with the pair running around in circles. Suddenly they stop and call in unison. Then both birds simultaneously pick up bunches of grass and throw them in the air.

Females usually lay two eggs in a ground nest lined with reeds or stones, usually in a dry field or marsh.

Adaptations: Cranes have specially designed windpipes that enable them to produce very distinct, raspy calls and resonating cries. These vocalizations can be heard up to several miles away.

Special Interest: The Stanley crane is the national bird of South Africa.

Notes from Jaxzoo.org.

Thanks for looking, have a great week.

Camera: Canon Eos 20D
Exposure time: 1/200 @ ISO100
Focal Length: 500mm @ F/5.6
Metering mode: Average
Exposure Program: Normal
Exposure Compensation: -0.3
Support: Handheld
Flash: No

Raw data processed using Rawshooter premium. Minor adjustments and frame using Photoshop CS.
carper, claudine, horia, wallhalla15, viv, Dando, Signal-Womb, manyee, scottevers7, blakitan, coasties, pablominto, marhowie, SkyF, PDP, dew77, valy67 has marked this note useful
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ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To PDP: Stanley BGliquidsunshine 2 08-07 16:54
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2165 W: 124 N: 2567] (8208)
  • [2006-08-06 12:34]

great head Alan,
very good shot, fantastic details good in pov a fantastic dof, very nice to look at, well done.
gr. jaap

Hi Alan,
Great portrait of this interesting bird! I never heard about this specie before. I read your notes and I am amazed by the size of his wings...it is a big bird!!! Very good details and composition! I like the fact that he has his beak open. Well done and TFS,
Claudine

  • Great 
  • horia Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2084 W: 216 N: 3767] (12502)
  • [2006-08-06 12:39]

Hi Alan

This is indeed something different. He looks quite cute :)
Great POV, excellent sharp details, nice exposure, good DOF and colors, very nice framing and composition.

Bravo and TFS
Horia

  • Great 
  • mbasil Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 348 W: 146 N: 706] (3067)
  • [2006-08-06 13:00]

Wonderfully clasic liquidsunshine work, Alan. I have also never sen one of these before, so thanks for that. Great details and composition, too. Well done.
Mike
P.S. The grass in the bg looks like the one you had on "They're grrreat", but is seems a bit less intrusive here, probably because of the simpler fur on this critter.

This is a great photo Alan. Great colours, excellent sharpness and POV. This is a very nice composition with an excellent note. I like it very much. Thank you for posting. Have a great week my friend.
Gr.
Heinz

  • Great 
  • viv Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 302 W: 3 N: 621] (3126)
  • [2006-08-06 13:57]

Hi Alan
Great portrait of this Stanley Crane, so clear and sharp I like the POV and composition.
Great work
Vivian

  • Great 
  • tinman Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 242 W: 7 N: 458] (2663)
  • [2006-08-06 15:21]

Great dof, very well composed

  • Great 
  • Dando Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 643 W: 32 N: 790] (3052)
  • [2006-08-06 15:53]

Hi Alan, nice portrait. Excellent details, colours and lighting. Although the shot is not in the wild so to speak I think the grass helps it to feel that way. Good work and TFS.
Dean.

I remember the advert well as Ian Rush was one of my favourite players at the time, so I drank loads of milk but still wasn't good enough, not even for Accrington Stanley. Take care.

Its new to me Alan, great side portrait with good detail. Definitely needs a boast in contrast though. Well done.

  • Great 
  • takos1 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 276 W: 25 N: 204] (2571)
  • [2006-08-06 17:23]

Bella cattura Alan!
Bel primo piano di questo uccello, ottimi dettagli e colori, bravo!

Franco

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3453 W: 144 N: 5902] (17490)
  • [2006-08-06 17:41]

"Milk? Ugh!"
"It's what Ian Rush drinks."
"Ian Rush?"
"Yeah. And he says if I don't drink lots of milk, when I grow up I'll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley."
"Accrington Stanley? Who are they?"
"Ex-accly."

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3073 W: 232 N: 5866] (19730)
  • [2006-08-06 19:33]

A first time for me to see this kind of crane, and a chick at that.
Thank you for the introduction and the wonderful notes, Alan. : )
A great shot with close up details, beautiful colors.
Nice blurred BG, though I wish a bit more of the bird were in focus.
TFS. : )

Hi Alan,
A very nice portrait shot on this young Stanley Crane. A new one for me, so I find it very iteresting. Exposure looks great. Well done. Have a great week!
Scott

Hi Alan,
Excellent close up shot of this cute bird. Sharp, neat, and great details. Nice blurry BG. Well composed.

Ben Lakitan

Hi Alan

A lovely close portrait of this little fella. Love the orange/tan head fluff. Good quality shot. :-)

Hi Alan,
A cute little guy, well captured!
Fine close-up work, DOF spot on and lovely textures in the fluffy feathers...
Good natural colours, fine details!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Nice Alan,
Luv this open-beak look :)
Nicely framed, great POV...So what's the inside on the chick? You're being a bit "cryptic" from my POV ;)
Have a great week.

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-08-07 10:53]

Hello Alan,
Wonderful capture, the colors and sharpness are superb. A wonderful POV. Lovely portrait.
Sky

  •      
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2964 W: 366 N: 3848] (11755)
  • [2006-08-07 14:17]
  • [+]

HI Alan, nice shot. Firstly I must say that it's a little lacking in contrast and saturation. The focus looks good and composition is ok too. The BG has some odd artifacts, did you do anything to it? Nice work.

Cute little fuzzknocker! THe POV is really nice on this one with really nice coloring. :)

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2006-08-08 15:55]

Hello Alan,
Funny capture.I liked POV,details,expression on face,clear eyes,BG and composition a lot.Excellent work!
TFS...:-)

I've never taken a photo of the cranes, they always get ignored when there are birds of prey in the vicinity, so it's nice to see one on here. I remember the ad, it took me a while to remember it was for milk. Janice's critique brought it all back!
Andy

Hi Alan !
Cute baay bird, and I have never seen this bird before... would be nice to see what the adult looks like ! Details, colors, composition, POV, DOF, everything is excellent. I also like the pose of the bird, with his beak half open. Very well done !
Valérie.

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