The odd, dry winter has changed my own winter migrations. First the first time in a decade or more, I haven't yet made a trip to the delta for the raptors of Solano County and the cranes of Woodbridge Road. Perhaps next week at long last. I shouldn't delay too long - in another month or so, they'll be heading back to their breeding grounds. It would be a pity to miss this sight....
They may not have the fame of their cousins the Whooping Cranes, but they are magnificent in their own, subtler way. Join me below the jump for a look at these elegant and ancient birds.
There is nothing like birding in the Central Valley and suddenly hearing crane calls in the distance. It's not that it's a particularly beautiful song, yet it always brings a smile to my face. Maybe it's as simple as crane calls = cranes... I dunno.
They manage to look perfectly elegant while standing in a muddy field.
They may not be great singers but, boy, can they dance. This video from Wisconsin DNR has some great footage set to stoopid music - I suggest watching with the sound off (and maybe open the vocalizations above in a separate window). This video is a bit longer and has some nice footage, or you can check out the pair below, strutting their stuff in a park (by the looks of it).
We don't get the opportunity to see cranes during the breeding season in the Bay Area, although they do breed in other areas of the state. They breed across a wide swath of the northern US and Canada, in wet fields/grasslands and marshy areas; there are also smaller populations in the southeast. Though they do face some challenges (habitat loss, pesticides, hunting), they still have pretty healthy populations overall. One subspecies (Florida) is threatened, and two subspecies (Mississippi and Cuba) are endangered, but efforts are underway to increase those populations. It's slow going, though, because cranes generally don't breed until they're around four years old and generally only produce one fledgling per year. (Young cranes are called "colts" - how perfect is that?)
Click here for a larger version
The northern populations are migratory, and gather in huge numbers on migration and in their wintering grounds. Some of the best know spots for crane viewing are on the Platte River in Nebraska, Bosque del Apache in New Mexico, and Aransas NWR in Texas. There are also many other good locations across the country for viewing them - refuges and wet fields - so it's likely there's one near you.
Sandhill cranes in idle agricultural land.
Cranes and herons are often confused - large, long-legged birds with long bills, hanging out at the edge of a wetlands. However, they are not closely related at all (a good example of convergent evolution). There is a good chart describing some of the differences between cranes and herons at the site for the endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes.
A few links:
International Crane Foundation
Rowe Sanctuary (Platte River)
Woodbridge Road (the best site for crane viewing near the Bay Area)
conservation issues: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/...
Want to get outside today while everyone else is watching TV? Take the Monterey Bay Birds Super Bowl Birding Challenge, created by Todd Newberry - rules here.