At dusk, they materialize...seemingly out of no where.
Sandhill cranes arriving 2-3 at a time.
Sometimes in larger groups...as many as a 40-50.
It can be quite a sight with their wings extended at 5-6 feet...and their landing gear dangling.
No matter which direction they come from, almost every crane makes the same approach when landing here at Myakka River State Park. Fascinating! This is the largest number of sandhill cranes I've ever seen here. Hundreds are coming in at dusk every night! A park ranger told me at least 500 were here one evening last week -- a sea of gray. Size aside, what's most interesting about the sandhill crane is their call. It's a distinct honking sound...and it's loud! Usually they call whenever new birds arrive. So, with hundreds arriving over the period of an hour or so, it's quite entertaining!
7 comments:
I would be amazed that there are no mid-air or landing collisions. Guess they have that in-built radar. Your last photo, sunset colours on the cranes too, just beautiful.
Beautiful! We've got lots of these here but I've never seen them in flight! Impressive. When I first saw the word, "Cranes," I looked for Frasier, Niles and their dad. :)
Quite a flock!
Here in the winter around sunset, crows seem to all converge together, spending the nights in a meadow off to the east from where I live.
Gorgeous looking cranes, an incoming invasion. The last shot is my favorite, very nice!
You caught them in beautiful light. They're beautiful birds and one I've seen very little of. Most recently it was at a very great distance in Yellowstone. Exciting to me, but nothing like this.
(BTW: Good eye! I changed the theme on my blog this week.)
I love your flying bird shots SRQ, I have no luck with them at all. What an incredible sight it must be each evening to see so many of these cranes flying in and how extraordinary that they all come in to land the same way.. It's a mystical world the world of birds!
Beautiful photos! Love the light!
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