Those Aren’t Geese!
Last week, after a day of storms and tornado warnings, we had a gorgeous day of 70 degrees with clear blue skies.
A great day for a walk.
As I was out on my walk, I heard a sound that I thought was coming from a pine tree nearby. It sounded like a very loud dove call. I looked and didn’t see anything, but the call continued. Finally I looked way up and saw a V of birds flying south. I got some pictures, and when I looked at them tonight, I realized that the birds were not geese, they were Sandhill Cranes!
Sandhill Cranes, Grus canadensis.
Close-up. Cranes fly with their necks stretched out, unlike herons.
Flying south.
It could be that I have seen them flying over before, but I could never zoom in enough to identify what was flying over, so this is a life bird for me!
I added the viewing to my checklist on eBird, and it was flagged as a rarity (probably because I didn’t know about marking it with a “flyover” code – it would be very rare to see these birds landing here!). But my viewing has showed up on the species range maps, which means it was reviewed and approved. I feel like a real birder now!
I wish I could have recorded their sound. Here is a video of them from the Crane Trust — it is 8 minutes long but watching it is like a mini-birding trip.
Oh how cool… Gorgeous birds!
What fun! I have never seen them (that I know of). I think we need a road trip next year to western IA or into NE to see them nesting.
Have you seen this blog? http://prairieecologist.com/2012/01/31/winter-cranes-part-three/ It’s from a Nature Conservancy property on the Platte River, and it really makes me want to visit that area.
I have seen the blog, recently began following. Jim’s been following them for at least several months. If you come up let us know when. It would be fun to meet “in the middle!”
I would love that!
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