Friday, October 16, 2009

sandhill staging

In a field about six miles south of my house, an amazing meeting is going on:

The sandhill cranes found this particular location desirable for all the reasons cranes like: plentiful food (from recently harvested corn fields), grassy fields, and marshes nearby.


It is worth noting that in my lifetime, sandhill cranes have gone from being a nearly extirpated oddity in Minnesota to a yearly spectacle. Kind of like bald eagles in that regard. I am so fortunate to have a pair of them nesting in the swamp near my home every year.

I left work early today and took a special drive just to see the cranes. On the way I noticed the tamaracks are turning golden, a sure sign of the end days of fall.

9 comments:

Madcap said...

WOW! You're a lucky lady! We see them flying through every spring and fall, but they never stick around as far as I can tell.

Richard said...

Forget any work and just watch the cranes.

Cindy said...

How cool is that?? A clump of cranes so close to you!!

Grizz………… said...

That is just so neat! I'd love to be able to see cranes like that! You are lucky. Great post!

Jayne said...

That is just SO cool Deb! Lucky you!

MamaHen said...

Wow!! I saw two sandhills lately at our zoo; only place I've ever seen them.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Oh my goodness! I'm heading up on Friday morning of next week. I can't wait to see the tamarack in a golden glow. You are darned lucky to have those Sandhills nearby.

R.Powers said...

Serendipity! Yesterday I was standing about twenty feet from a pair of cranes and shooting as fast as I can.

Your pics are great! I bet the sounds were wonderful.So neat to see that and know that many of these will be in my area soon. Emma said at the University of South Florida campus they walk around like they own the place and you literally have to step around them on the walkways!!!
How sweet is that.

Thanks for sharing!

RuthieJ said...

Aw Deb, that's so neat. I've never seen that many sandhill cranes in the wild. I bet the sound was amazing!