Sandhill Cranes Migrating!

[Furballsmom]

WOW.
I've had the incomparable joy of seeing and sometimes hearing ever increasing-in-size flocks of Sandhill Cranes heading south, in October since about 2012. (Denver International Airport keeps an eye out for these birds, turkey vultures, eagle flocks...it's busy out here!)
THIS year for the first time, I heard and saw a flock of approximately 45 birds just east of my house (heh, sometimes I hope we never move) circling, gaining altitude - at one point they were actually headed back south LOL, and eventually creating that sort of V or U shape and going off to the north.
I've been boycotting Cornell/ebird for a while ever since their president is the same as Audubon's and they were supporting some guy who, in the name of science and birds, wants to eradicate ferals and have every other cat kept inside forever. There's no TNR or 'working cat' mode of operation in this person's mind. ANYway, I fired both barrels of complete and utter outrage at both institutions and stopped using ebird.
(sigh)
Well, in order to keep up with global warming (it really is a thing - we have birds, insects and plants we've NEVER seen before) and this spring's hummingbird migration I ended up using my ebird account again, trying to determine when I need to get my feeders out this year.
With that thought and out of curiosity I input my sandhill crane spotting event this afternoon, and saw that they made 17 miles in half an hour when a lady north of me posted her sighting of 42 birds.
Gosh, what absolute fun!

 

[Willowy]

That's so cool. I've only seen the cranes once, when I took a vanload of cats to a low-cost spay clinic south of Omaha. And they were flying, not gathering on the ground.

Right now the snow/blue geese (we now know that snow geese and blue geese are the same species, just a different color variant, but scientists used to think they were different species and we still haven't merged the names!) are migrating through, and the Bald Eagles follow them.

A couple years ago I had a pair of hummingbirds stop by to sample the Morning Glories on their way migrating through. I've never seen hummingbirds locally except for those 2. But some local residents have feeders out and say they have some regulars who hang around all summer. I guess I'm just never looking at the right time .

 

[MoochNNoodles]

How neat! We get to see some coastal/water birds here but I don't usually take the time to figure out what they are. Once my old boss came in to work and said she had come home to find a heron in her tiny little man made pond in her front yard.

 

[Furballsmom]

a heron in her tiny little man made pond

aww, aren't they something!!
My partner can't figure out how I know they're coming through, I told him I've gotten wired for that strange, interesting burbly call that they have - nothing else on earth sounds like it. Granted, folks in Florida and elsewhere, where they hang out year-round, have been known to get tired of it - these guys are LOUD when they're right outside the patio door LOL

 

[Furballsmom]

But some local residents have feeders out and say they have some regulars who hang around all summer. I guess I'm just never looking at the right time

Several years ago I had one little guy show up and check out a red cable tie we had on our metal pole for the weather station while I was sitting on the deck, that got me to put up feeders. Last year we had at least two regulars and several that were just passing through.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

WOW.
I've had the incomparable joy of seeing and sometimes hearing ever increasing-in-size flocks of Sandhill Cranes heading south, in October since about 2012. (Denver International Airport keeps an eye out for these birds, turkey vultures, eagle flocks...it's busy out here!)
THIS year for the first time, I heard and saw a flock of approximately 45 birds just east of my house (heh, sometimes I hope we never move) circling, gaining altitude - at one point they were actually headed back south LOL, and eventually creating that sort of V or U shape and going off to the north.
I've been boycotting Cornell/ebird for a while ever since their president is the same as Audubon's and they were supporting some guy who, in the name of science and birds, wants to eradicate ferals and have every other cat kept inside forever. There's no TNR or 'working cat' mode of operation in this person's mind. ANYway, I fired both barrels of complete and utter outrage at both institutions and stopped using ebird.
(sigh)
Well, in order to keep up with global warming (it really is a thing - we have birds, insects and plants we've NEVER seen before) and this spring's hummingbird migration I ended up using my ebird account again, trying to determine when I need to get my feeders out this year.
With that thought and out of curiosity I input my sandhill crane spotting event this afternoon, and saw that they made 17 miles in half an hour when a lady north of me posted her sighting of 42 birds.
Gosh, what absolute fun!

Furballsmom - How exciting, and what a wonderful experience it must have been watching them! Must call mama africa to this thread - she'll be thrilled vicariously.

For those who don't know these majestic birds, here they are!

sandhill cranes - Google Search
.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my goodness, what a fantastic compilation of photos!!

 

[mama africa]

Furballsmom - How exciting, and what a wonderful experience it must have been watching them! Must call mama africa to this thread - she'll be thrilled vicariously.

For those who don't know these majestic birds, here they are!

sandhill cranes - Google Search
.

1CatOverTheLine - Thank you for calling me ! They look indeed majestic, but unfortunately I didn't see them when they were crossing Belgium... Maybe next time ?

Kraanvogels met uitstelgedrag trekken eindelijk over België

 

[Winchester]

Oh wow! Wonderful! And aren't they just gorgeous?!

One early spring morning I had stopped at our library to return some books to the book drop-off. I didn't pull quite close enough, so I got out of the car to put the books in. And suddenly, I heard the geese. I looked up and there they were! I swear they took up half the sky! The flock or gaggle was the largest I think I ever saw in my life. It was so pretty, it brought tears to my eyes. They just looked so majestic, flying and the honking to keep up and talk to the other geese. It was just lovely. I'll never forget it.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

We get a lot of geese here. Sometimes in the evening I can hear them on one of the nearby ponds. Sometimes they come over pretty low too. I wouldn't want them to nest here; but I do like watching them!

 

[Furballsmom]

Winchester , I don't know what it is about migrating flocks that just gets us, but I just LOVE it when we're in the right place at the right time!!
Hmmm, MoochNNoodles ...umm, yeah, Denver's getting a little over-run with the Canada goose, and my goodness, the quantity of poo a goose creates is rather amazing LOL

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

1CatOverTheLine - Thank you for calling me ! They look indeed majestic, but unfortunately I didn't see them when they were crossing Belgium... Maybe next time ?

Kraanvogels met uitstelgedrag trekken eindelijk over België

mama africa - Thanks for posting this; it's interesting that their habitat is moving southward - but 200,000 to 300,000 Cranes in Spain and Portugal? Here's an article from exactly one year ago, via RTL, with similar views on the migration:

Magnifique spectacle dans le ciel de Wonck (Bassenge): Ali photographie le passage d'une centaine de grues cendrées
.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

umm, yeah, Denver's getting a little over-run with the Canada goose, and my goodness, the quantity of poo a goose creates is rather amazing LOL

I think we have enough wetlands here that they don't create issues. I love the large flocks of snow geese on fields in the winter too. Once we had farm fields flooding from a lot of rain and the geese were out swimming in it! There is a horse stable up the road where they stay year round. The center of their front field is a large pond. Its kind of neat to see the mix of geese, horses, foals and whatever other water-bird has stopped by. Sometimes I drive by and slow down so the kids can see but it makes the horses run off so I don't often. Its a pretty place though.

 

[Kreatorcat]

Ah,the beauty of nature at its finest. Bet it was a wonderous experience,I am jealous.

 

[Furballsmom]

but it makes the horses run off so I don't often

gracious sakes, spooky horses!