A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Grus canadensis
Cranes are among the oldest living birds on the planet, with fossil records dating back 9 million years. The sandhill crane is long-legged, long-necked bird. Its forehead is a vivid red, and the plumage is colored slate or brown-gray. Adults have a white chin, cheek and upper throat and black primaries. The young have a feathered head and chocolate-brown plumage with some rusty color. These cranes can be up to about four feet in length, have a wingspan of up to 7 feet, and weigh up to 11 pounds. During migration, they fly in V-formations or make long lines.
farmland and marshland
In the early morning light we waited for the thousands of cranes to fly in to forage in one of their favorite spots. This particular morning we probably saw a couple hundred cranes foraging for roots, bugs and small rodents as the day began. One crane in particular was lighter than the others and caught me attention!
Spotted on Mar 16, 2013
Submitted on Mar 18, 2013
2 Comments
I thought so too!
That light one was so pretty!