Last week I went to a friend’s house for dinner. She lives on a small farm similar to mine, but she backs up onto a pond, whereas I back up onto forest. I headed out a little early so that I could wander around the pond and woods near her house. I was actually hoping to see and photograph some wild turkeys, but I had no luck with that. I did, however, see quite a few sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis). I could hear them calling pretty frequently off in the distance, so I walked in that direction. When I got closer to the pond, the noise got louder and louder, and was obviously quite a few birds. It would last 30-40 seconds and then stop. I’m not great at bird identification by their calls, so I wasn’t sure at that time what it even was, but I was completely intrigued!

When I got around one extension of the pond, I saw another not far away. As I approached the area the call broke out again, and I watched a good sized group of sandhill cranes flying above the trees headed away from the pond area. I also spotted these three cranes across the water from me. They were definitely aware of my approach, but seemed comfortable that I was far enough away to not be a threat. I spent about half an hour watching and photographing them, and they pretty quickly stopped paying any attention to me. The three of them stayed pretty close to each other the entire time and I suspect that they were a mother, a father, and this year’s colt. They were obviously closely bonded.

While I was watching them, several more groups flew through calling as they went. My little trio answered several times, and finally suddenly all three of them took flight and headed off in the same direction as the others had been going. The sun was going down pretty quickly by that point, so I suspect that they were all headed to a roosting spot. I really enjoyed being outside observing these magnificent birds as they went about their business. I loved the way they looked out for each other, and stayed pretty close the whole time. I only wish I had had more time to spend. I will most definitely have to go out again earlier in the day so that I have more time. That encounter was just the beginning of a great evening. My friend had made a fabulous dinner, and we all had a great time visiting. There’s not much that’s better than good birding followed by a great meal and wonderful company.