The Sandhill Crane - Part Two

My fascination with the beautiful sandhill crane continues today.  Yesterday I drove back to where I saw the birds on Saturday and they were still there.  When I went around the block to pick up Charlie so he could see them, they must have flown off, because when we got back to the development, they were gone.  I do know that it is time for them to migrate to Florida - typical Michigan snowbird.

I went online to see what I could learn about them and found out that they are believed to be the oldest living species of bird, having existed for 9 million years in their present form.  They can stand up to five feet tall and have a wingspan of six to seven feet.  There is a sanctuary for them here in Michigan with around 9,000 of them in summer.

Here are some of the photos I took yesterday with my camera:

 Sandhill cranes are very wary of humans so I tried to stay in my car.

"You go your way and we'll go ours"

The Sandhill Crane

Not too far away from me they tore down an old elementary school to put in a small subdivision.  They only have one model home built, but I thought I would drive past yesterday to see the layout of the sub.  Imagine my surprise when I was driving through to see these glorious sandhill cranes.

It is not that I have never seen them around here before, but it has been many, many years.  I would occasionally see them along the creek bank behind my home.  It is much more common to see snowy egrets and blue herons.  I only have to wonder where they will go once the development commences in earnest.