Have We Seen Any Sandhill Cranes Yet?
In case you were concerned whether or not our group had seen any cranes yet, here is your answer:
Oh, just a few...thousand! Once we got past Grand Island, they were all over in the fields. The group was antsy for them too. I forget how exciting the multitude of sandhill cranes can be. I was assuming after our nine hour drive that the group would want to unwind at the hotel, but as soon as we started seeing cranes, no one was interested in checking in to the hotel, they wanted to just sit and watch and listen--I was the same way my first time too! So, stop and admire we did.
We stopped at Fort Kearney and found a large flock that was spooked into the air and looked like a cloud of smoke off in the distance--pure magic!
Another highlight in Nebraska for all the Minnesota birders was all the Harris sparrows mixed in with the juncos. Boy, you know it's a hardcore birding trip when people are excited about sparrows. I must admit, I do enjoy Harris sparrows. They always remind me of Bluto...or Pavarotti.
Oh, just a few...thousand! Once we got past Grand Island, they were all over in the fields. The group was antsy for them too. I forget how exciting the multitude of sandhill cranes can be. I was assuming after our nine hour drive that the group would want to unwind at the hotel, but as soon as we started seeing cranes, no one was interested in checking in to the hotel, they wanted to just sit and watch and listen--I was the same way my first time too! So, stop and admire we did.
We stopped at Fort Kearney and found a large flock that was spooked into the air and looked like a cloud of smoke off in the distance--pure magic!
Labels: Bird Trips, digiscoping
posted by birdchick at 8:06 PM
3 Comments:
I was scrolling through this post - yeah, lots and lots of cranes in this picture...and that picture...and -- WHOA, BABY STOP THE PRESSES! What is THAT bird?
Harris' Sparrow. Sweet. I must say, I find that bird to be much more exciting than 1000's of cranes. Guess that makes me a hard-core birder, or at least a real sparrow-phile. One of my treats last year was my life Lark Sparrow, another beauty.
There has been a Harris' Sparrow in Holmes County, OH all winter, at an Amish farm, but I haven't had the time or energy to chase it. Seeing your photo makes me wish I did.
~Kathi
I drove to Madison this morning and saw LOTS of birds of prey circling the skies on my drive down. Oh! And when I passed one of the many still frozen lakes in MN, I saw an eagle standing on the ice over a dead something or other.
When I got to my destination, a crane flew over my car on the way to a Madison lake and Robins are all over the place!
Amy (at finding my new normal) that is SO cool. I love the drive from the Twin Cities to Madison, WI. It's great for migrating raptors. One day NBB and I saw whooping cranes coming back from Madison just west of Thomah.
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