I was quite surprised and happy that the cranes allowed me to get this close to them. Remember, 500mm lens, so this is I'm guessing, around 150 feet or so. I approached through cover and the reeds and grass there are almost eye-high but I wasn't fooling myself into thinking I was actually hidden. They knew where I was every step of the way. Shortly after this, Gracie got too close to them for comfort and they flew off.