Update on the Sandhill Cranes

Hunter58

This shot was back on April 5th, it was cloudy on this day.



Here they are on May 24th better lighting on this day. The little one is getting big.



It's almost as tall as mom, looks taller in this shot because it's on higher ground



Even though the little one is eating on its own the parents still offer some food

Stumblebum

Nice!

TonyCooper

Sandhill cranes are frequent visitors to my front yard.

They're an odd bird in that their eye color changes as
they age. The younger ones have yellow eyes, and the
older ones have flame-red eyes. Between the two
colors, you will see some with orange-colored eyes.

The different eye colors are shown in your photographs.

They are an interesting bird to watch, but an annoying
bird to have in your front yard early in the morning. They
are very loud.

They are also interesting because they seldom stay
in the same area all of the time. During the day, they
will feed in one place, and then go to a different place
at night. They feed in a dry area and nest in a marshy
or wet area that can be miles away from their day area.

Stumblebum

TonyCooper wrote: »

Sandhill cranes are frequent visitors to my front yard.

They're an odd bird in that their eye color changes as
they age. The younger ones have yellow eyes, and the
older ones have flame-red eyes. Between the two
colors, you will see some with orange-colored eyes.

The different eye colors are shown in your photographs.

They are an interesting bird to watch, but an annoying
bird to have in your front yard early in the morning. They
are very loud.

They are also interesting because they seldom stay
in the same area all of the time. During the day, they
will feed in one place, and then go to a different place
at night. They feed in a dry area and nest in a marshy
or wet area that can be miles away from their day area.

And according to food channel they taste good! Steak in the sky is what they called it!
So perhaps you can solve your noise and protein probelm in one shot!:D

Hunter58

TonyCooper wrote: »

Sandhill cranes are frequent visitors to my front yard.

They're an odd bird in that their eye color changes as
they age. The younger ones have yellow eyes, and the
older ones have flame-red eyes. Between the two
colors, you will see some with orange-colored eyes.

The different eye colors are shown in your photographs.

They are an interesting bird to watch, but an annoying
bird to have in your front yard early in the morning. They
are very loud.

They are also interesting because they seldom stay
in the same area all of the time. During the day, they
will feed in one place, and then go to a different place
at night. They feed in a dry area and nest in a marshy
or wet area that can be miles away from their day area.

They sure can be noisy especially when a larger group gets going. I find some of these birds aren't really afraid of us. These three kept walking towards me until they were too close to photograph.

TonyCooper

Hunter58 wrote: »

They sure can be noisy especially when a larger group gets going. I find some of these birds aren't really afraid of us. These three kept walking towards me until they were too close to photograph.

I live on a golf course that is divided by a fairly major street. The course was
built when the "street" was a dirt road, but it is now paved and busy ... especially
before and after school because two schools now face on it.

When the sandhill cranes decide to cross the road, all traffic stops. They often
walk along, not across, the road and hold up traffic for quite a while. Honking
and yelling doesn't encourage them to move.

kdog

#1 is calendar material. Seriously epic photo. Congrats.

Dennis Kaczor

Very nice shots of the Sandhill Cranes. That first shot is sweet hunter with the little one in the middle.

fool4thecity

Very nice set of images! Love Sandhill Cranes!