Migrating Sandhill Cranes
by Robert Bales
Title
Migrating Sandhill Cranes
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
These Sandhill Crane were found in Southern Idaho during the Spring on their migration to the North for the Summer..
The Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest. This is the most important stopover area for the nominotypical subspecies, the Lesser Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis canadensis), with up to 450,000 of these birds migrating through annually.
Adult is gray overall; during breeding, the plumage is usually much worn and stained, particular in the migratory populations, and looks nearly ochre. The average weight of the larger male is 4.57 kg (10.1 lb), while the average weight of females is 4.02 kg (8.9 lb), with a range of 2.7 to 6.7 kg (6.0 to 15 lb) across the subspecies. The Sandhill Crane has a red forehead, white cheeks and a long dark pointed bill. Its long dark legs trail behind in flight, and the long neck is kept straight in flight. Immature birds have reddish brown upperparts and gray underparts. The sexes look alike.
This crane frequently gives a loud trumpeting call that suggests a French-style "r" rolled in the throat, and they can be heard from a long distance. Mated pairs of cranes engage in "unison calling." The cranes stand close together, calling in a synchronized and complex duet. The female makes two calls for every single call of the male.
The Sandhill Crane's large wingspan, typically 1.65 to 2.1 m (5.4 to 6.9 ft), makes this a very skilled soaring bird similar in style to hawks and eagles. Utilizing thermals to obtain lift, they can stay aloft for many hours, requiring only occasional flapping of their wings and consequently expending little energy. With migratory flocks containing hundreds of birds, they can create clear outlines of the normally invisible rising columns of air (thermals) that they ride.
Sandhill Cranes fly south for the winter. In their wintering areas they form flocks of over 10,000 birds. One place to observe this is at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, 100 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is an annual Sandhill Crane Festival in November.
Uploaded
April 9th, 2014
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Viewed 1,887 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/19/2024 at 8:45 PM
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Comments (33)
William Tasker
That has to be quite an event. Great shot. Thank you for submitting this fine natural shot of this identified wild bird. It is now featured on the homepage of Wild Birds Of The World - A Nature Photography Group. L/F
Anita Faye
Robert, happy to feature your beautiful work on Poetic Poultry! https://fineartamerica.com/groups/poetic-poultry-.html
Mr Bennett Kent
Fabulous shot, Robert. A most beautiful situation surrounded by the dead stems and beautifully lined up along the narrow focal plane. A lovely and unusual shot....L/F/Tweet
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks for the nice review and they were cleaning up some old corn. Thanks for the great support!!
Ginny Barklow
Wonderful capture Robert!! I don't know how long you had to wait to get three of them in the right position, but it makes a great picture!! V L F
Robert Bales replied:
It was not long. I took this from the car. Thanks for the support and nice comments!