It’s not quite six in the morning and the back roads beckon me to some quiet time. At this time of day, my priority is being able to write while I listen to Mother Nature waking up. Windows down and motor turned off, this is an easy do. As always in this location, there is the sound of the low bawling of cattle off in the distance. A sound that lets me know all is well in this morning world.
The sun had just made its entrance over the tree line. The words were starting to flow on the pages. Perfect start to my day; and then I heard it. From somewhere over there. Across the meadow. Maybe?
Having left the house without the field glasses, I was at the mercy of my eyesight and my camera with a 70-300 lens. Both, I quickly realized, were useless in the early morning shadowy light.
My determination to confirm the sound echoing up the valley turned my writing morning up-side-down. It didn’t take me long to cease the pencil scratching across the paper and start the vehicle. Slowly travelling the gravel road in the direction of where I thought the sound was coming from.
The road ran parallel to the meadow making for easy, every so often, glances off to the south. Finally! I spotted the noisy couple and came to a stop to watch them in their courtship dance, jumping into the air and bobbing up and down. I was still too far away to get any kind of respectable pictures to share.
They seemed to be engrossed with each. I took advantage of them ignoring me and moved the vehicle to a better viewing spot that was about a quarter of a mile away from them.
The sun had just made its entrance over the tree line. The words were starting to flow on the pages. Perfect start to my day; and then I heard it. From somewhere over there. Across the meadow. Maybe?
Having left the house without the field glasses, I was at the mercy of my eyesight and my camera with a 70-300 lens. Both, I quickly realized, were useless in the early morning shadowy light.
My determination to confirm the sound echoing up the valley turned my writing morning up-side-down. It didn’t take me long to cease the pencil scratching across the paper and start the vehicle. Slowly travelling the gravel road in the direction of where I thought the sound was coming from.
The road ran parallel to the meadow making for easy, every so often, glances off to the south. Finally! I spotted the noisy couple and came to a stop to watch them in their courtship dance, jumping into the air and bobbing up and down. I was still too far away to get any kind of respectable pictures to share.
They seemed to be engrossed with each. I took advantage of them ignoring me and moved the vehicle to a better viewing spot that was about a quarter of a mile away from them.
That’s when the beautiful Sand Hill Cranes spotted me. Moments later they took to the air. Their rattling sounds resonating across the valley. Lifting skyward on a slow steady climb and finally disappearing into the eastern horizon.
Interesting Tidbits About Sandhill Cranes.
- They mate for life.
- They can start mating at 2 years of age but may reach 7 years before starting.
- They wow their potential mates with their dance moves.
- They attack predators by spreading their wings, hissing and kicking.
- They nest (in Alberta) in wetlands, the foothills and boreal forests.
- Nests can be up to 40” or more, across.
- They are known to make more than a dozen sounds.
- Adult colouring is grey bodied with red cap on their head. Immature birds lack the red cap.
- Eats grain, vertebrates, shoots and tubers.
Tidbits Come From:
- allaboutbirds.org
- Birds of Alberta
- 250 North American Birds in Song
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