Spring 2026 Wildlife Photography Contest – 3rd Place Winner

Crawly Comfort Meal by Jenna Stirling

Getting this shot was about putting in the time beforehand. I began tracking a pair of Sandhill Cranes for several months, knowing this was a common nesting area. When they began nesting, I visited the preserve a couple of times a week, documenting a potential lay date so I could track incubation times and be ready when the colts hatched.

Having marked an estimated hatch date on my calendar, I headed out to the preserve several times that week to check for any activity. On my third visit, I arrived just as the pair led their two new colts up to the preserve to forage for the day. While I had envisioned this shot, it wasn’t captured until the following morning — arriving at sunrise, I kept my distance and sat in the soggy grass while the family moved around me. Eventually the pair wandered under the shade of an oak tree, where they plucked up this snack, giving me the soft, diffused light I needed.

On the technical side, I needed to freeze the quick moment of the parent passing the spider to the colt. I adjusted my shutter speed throughout the morning as the light shifted with their location and direction, eventually settling on 1/800s for this frame. The shade and misty conditions required balancing that with an ISO of 1250 to retain a clean exposure without losing detail. It was one of those moments I had missed the previous year due to harsh mid-morning sun — but where all the planning finally clicked.