Charu Suri @wsj.com: Have You Ever Seen the Crane?
North America’s sandhill crane migration is one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles. To witness these frequent flyers on their favorite plains, head to Nebraska now.
From mid-February to mid-April (peaking during the last few weeks of March), the densest influx of migrating sandhill cranes descends on Nebraska. 80% of the planet’s crane population, 650,000 birds, have been making seasonal stopovers in the region for at least 10,000 years, an epic spectacle on par with the annual wildebeest migration in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
These slate-colored winged beauties with crimson foreheads and cream-colored cheeks gather along the sinuous, braided channels of the Platte River, which offer them protection from predators, and feast on corn left on the fields after harvest until not a kernel remains…(In a perfectly symbiotic dynamic, the cranes help the farmers by leaving them a clean field ready for planting the following year.)
I could hear the distinctive, low and throaty call of the crane — as insistent as cicada song — even through the closed windows of our car. (The song of one sandhill crane can carry well over a mile.)…It sounded as if an avian orchestra was tuning up just a few feet away, as a blend of sharp trills and lush cooing filled the air. Though the sun had not yet risen, I could make out the silhouettes of wings and of reedlike legs supporting the birds’ hefty bluish-grey frames. A few frisky, early rising males did the mating dance, flapping their wings and leaping a few feet into the air like giddy, light-footed schoolboys, while the females seemed to look on approvingly. But most of the cranes were still asleep, their heads tucked under their wings…The entire scene was accompanied by what sounded like countless chamber orchestras riffing simultaneously on Stravinsky.
Fun Facts on Sandhill Cranes: Sandhill cranes travel up to 10,000 miles, as many as 500 per day, on their annual migration from the Southern U.S. and Mexico. Their wingspan: 6.5 feet for adults. Their average height: Just under four feet for adults. Special Talent: They are known for their ability to dance. Like humans, they boogie to find a mate, relieve tension and just for fun.
Read more here: Have You Ever Seen the Crane?
Photo by Siena62 taken near Kearney, NE
Live & Learn 
Nature–it really IS a source of constant amazement. And I’m sorry, but how can you NOT love a bird that “boogies to find a mate, relieve tension, and just for fun”?!
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Laughing. True!
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beautiful and amazing.
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Yes. A read a book by Richard Powers (The Echo Maker http://www.amazon.com/The-Echo-Maker-A-Novel/dp/B005DIAMDE) That first introduced me to the sandhill cranes. I’ve never forgotten his description of the experience. Divine.
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I’ve seen them “boogie” on the Queen Charlotte Islands. It was amazing!
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I bet it was (amazing)! Would love to see them.
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It was really special to get so close to them (in natural surroundings). We were in the trees and they were on the tidal flats just beyond the trees.
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Wow, that’s some distance they travel. They’re very attractive looking birds.
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Yes. When they roll, it is a long hike.
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We have been hearing them overhead in Indiana 🙂 Love that sound…
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Lucky you!
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Reblogged this on Blissfully Single and commented:
It’s amazing how these beautiful birds blanket the fields here in Nebraska. They are amazing, and worth the trip to see them!
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I need to make the trip Jan.
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They really are amazing!
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They’re migrating over the Chicago area now. If you think you hear a distant warbling sound, look up and watch as, high over head, hundreds fly over in formation.
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Thanks Mark. We lived in Chicago for 4 years. I probably heard them overhead and didn’t know what they were. Incredible spectacle.
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