John that is the neatest thing! thank you for sharing.
kay

What a gorgeous picture! We have Sandhill Cranes here during the summer and I love hearing their loud honking when they arrive.

The cranes are fascinating. In addition to the year-round residents, there's also a migratory flock that winters in the area. I remember one memorable late afternoon when the flock landed in my sister's pasture. I stopped counting at sixty birds. Some of the locals nest nearby, because we see them in the yard with their little ones long before the babies are capable of flight.

John

I knew I had this photo-somewhere. Sandhill Crane pair with two babies. Two babies is common, but for both of them to survive isn't, or so I've read.

Just plain old Neat! Yardley, my garden cat, would have to go into therapy if they landed in my back yard. Are they still on the endangered list?.........Maryl

Fabulous. I would love to see them.
kay

What a neat picture! Just exactly the right height for them to drink :)
Maryl, LOL at garden cat comment! I was thinking the same thing about our cats :)

I don't think the Sandhill Cranes were ever considered to be endangered.

what a neat picture,I love it. I have never seen a live one before and have only seen white cranes. nothing like these. would love to see them up close.Them legs looks like stilts. they are very neat looking birds,and I love birds anyway, all kinds of them. Thank you for shring these pictures, I really injoy them.

jean

I thought I had read somewhere about the Florida Sandhill crane's numbers. Here's a link to an article about them. They are considered "threatened" and with diminishing numbers could go on the "endangered" species list. Those little babies in your back yard are important creatures.......Maryl

Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Sandhill Crane

Interesting article. I knew that our year-round cranes were a subspecies, but I didn't know that there numbers were limited. That's hard to imagine, given that they seem to be so plentiful around here. Thanks.

John

very interesting article.Thanks.

jean

Great photo of such majestic birds! A very enjoyable post.

Celeste

John, maybe your migratory flock is the same group that summers in my area. Perhaps they're drawn to daylilies.

I have seen a body of water in NE along I-80 completely covered with sandhill cranes, the noise they made was mind boggling.

I can imagine. If I'm out in the yard when the cranes are around, or flying over, the odd sort of clattering sound they make with their bills is quite distinctive. I'd noticed that their normally gray feathers were sometimes brown, and learned that because they stick their bills into the ground while foraging, then groom themselves, their feathers get dirty. They remain so until the next rain.