Sandhill Crane

Does anything say winter in New Mexico more than a flying Sandhill Crane?!?! I saw thousands of these incredible birds during my weeklong stay in Albuquerque, and this frame more than any of the hundreds I captured shows the link between bird and landscape. Virtually all of the birds at this location took off straight away from me (totally useless for photography), but this individual gave me an unexpected perpendicular departure. I chose this shot from the burst of 20 because the elongated subject is just clear of the mountains, they functioning as a nice - but not intersecting - frame.

Bernardo Wildlife Management Area, Socorro County, New Mexico, 12/17/20
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS 1DX Mark II
1/3200 at f/7.1, ISO 640