Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon NE --
When we awoke this morning and peeked outside, the ground was covered with fresh snow and the thermometer was registering around 25 degrees. A northwest wind of about 20-30 miles per hour was blowing snow! "What a miserable morning this is going to be," Grumpy muttered to himself, thinking of standing in that well-ventilated blind for three or four hours.
But Grumpy is no "wuss" -- I mean he has hunted deer in worse weather than this! And even rode horse-back through blizzard conditions just to go visit his best friend in high school.
Ah!! But that was a long, long, long time ago -- when Grumpy was a teenager or mid-twenty something. Now is now, and Grumpy was dreading what might be the discomfort this morning's weather would mete upon his old, tired body.
It was quite dark when Hazel and Grumpy arrived at the blind -- the same one from which we had viewed the Cranes the evening before. We expected to see plenty of them as it seemed to be the central spot for them last night. We were not disappointed!
In fact, the cold North wind had apparently "encouraged" the Cranes to move to the South shore of the Platte, nearer to our blind! And the noises they were making!! Grumpy opined that it was probably all of the Mares (females) complaining bitterly to their Roans (males) about his idea of leaving the warm, sunny Louisiana or Northern Mexico to come all the way up here to Nebraska when it was still Winter!! Grumpy imagined he heard the Mares ask, "Didn't you ask for weather directions before we left!?".
I'm sure that any enterprising coyote could have splashed his way right into the midst of that "mob" before any one was the wiser!
Under normal weather conditions, the Cranes would have made a more or less massive takeoff which would have been great to have witnessed. A few brave groups -- maybe more hungry than the others -- took off and headed out to the corn fields to put on more of the fat energy that they will need to make their long journey to Saskatchewan -- or Alaska -- or Siberia!
For the most part, the blizzard conditions apparently changed the mood of most of the Cranes on this day, so after a couple hours of watching their nervous (or angry?!) pacing back and forth wading in that cold Platte River water, we finally opted to leave the blind and head back to the headquarters building where we warmed our hands and innards with a cup of coffee. When Grumpy's fingers finally resumed their feeling we hurried to the parking lot where we climbed into our car and aimed for breakfast at the Perkins restaurant in Kearney.
Although somewhat disappointed in not seeing the mass takeoff, we both felt rewarded in seeing the more rare sight of what the Cranes do instead on a cold, miserable morning.
But Grumpy is no "wuss" -- I mean he has hunted deer in worse weather than this! And even rode horse-back through blizzard conditions just to go visit his best friend in high school.
Ah!! But that was a long, long, long time ago -- when Grumpy was a teenager or mid-twenty something. Now is now, and Grumpy was dreading what might be the discomfort this morning's weather would mete upon his old, tired body.
It was quite dark when Hazel and Grumpy arrived at the blind -- the same one from which we had viewed the Cranes the evening before. We expected to see plenty of them as it seemed to be the central spot for them last night. We were not disappointed!
In fact, the cold North wind had apparently "encouraged" the Cranes to move to the South shore of the Platte, nearer to our blind! And the noises they were making!! Grumpy opined that it was probably all of the Mares (females) complaining bitterly to their Roans (males) about his idea of leaving the warm, sunny Louisiana or Northern Mexico to come all the way up here to Nebraska when it was still Winter!! Grumpy imagined he heard the Mares ask, "Didn't you ask for weather directions before we left!?".I'm sure that any enterprising coyote could have splashed his way right into the midst of that "mob" before any one was the wiser!
Under normal weather conditions, the Cranes would have made a more or less massive takeoff which would have been great to have witnessed. A few brave groups -- maybe more hungry than the others -- took off and headed out to the corn fields to put on more of the fat energy that they will need to make their long journey to Saskatchewan -- or Alaska -- or Siberia!
For the most part, the blizzard conditions apparently changed the mood of most of the Cranes on this day, so after a couple hours of watching their nervous (or angry?!) pacing back and forth wading in that cold Platte River water, we finally opted to leave the blind and head back to the headquarters building where we warmed our hands and innards with a cup of coffee. When Grumpy's fingers finally resumed their feeling we hurried to the parking lot where we climbed into our car and aimed for breakfast at the Perkins restaurant in Kearney.Although somewhat disappointed in not seeing the mass takeoff, we both felt rewarded in seeing the more rare sight of what the Cranes do instead on a cold, miserable morning.
I have seen Sandhill cranes in central Oregon, in April, indicating that not all of them go through Nebraska. I was two weeks late when I saw them, so there were only a few individuals. On another occasion I saw huge flocks of them in January in southern Arizona. The flocks, and noise, and "V" flight formations were just like you described, but there was no dancing. I saw them in Arizona again in a subsequent year, in late October. I didn't go to the main roosting site, but saw one big "V" formation climbing from the flat land of western New Mexico to go through a pass in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. The noise they were making caught my attention first. I had to search the distant skies before I spotted them.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of the time we stopped along the highway in eastern South Dakota and you heard the snow geese flying overhead at about 5-10 thousand feet.
Jim: You are absolutely right that not all of the Sandhill Cranes fly through the "funnel" at the Platte River in Nebraska. There are three flyways that different groups use; one along the Atlantic seaboard (those Cranes "winter" in Florida and the Caribbean), one along the Pacific coast flyway (they "winter in Southern CA, Baja California and maybe further south); the largest (by far!) group use the Central flyway which funnels through Nebraska. (These winter in parts of Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and regions in Northern Mexico!) The Nebraska group may also fly the farthest from wintering grounds to summer nesting grounds (some in Siberia!).
ReplyDeleteThe Cranes may not "dance" during their winter sojourn. It is said that they dance as a part of their courting/mating routine, but also sometimes seemingly "just for fun" -- excitement, like bouncing baby boys!
Their red area above their eyes on the top and front of their heads is bare skin (like a turkey) and the redness is an indication of their degree of excitement, including sexual excitement.