Reflection by a rippled surface

By Matt Young

Photograph by Dave Rintoul.

Photography contest, Honorable Mention.

rintoul_platte_sunset_reflection.jpg
Late March sunset reflected in a channel of the Platte River near Gibbon, Nebraska.

Meandering channels with sandbars such as this one are critical habitat for sandhill cranes and whooping cranes migrating north; the birds roost in the river overnight, which protects them from predators such as coyotes.