Since we first saw the Sandhill Cranes nesting in our neighborhood on 5/4/12, we’ve been going down to the pond almost every day to watch them. Word quickly spread about the baby cranes so other people are now down there almost every time we go. Some are photographers, some are bird watchers, some are just moms with their kids, and some are groups of elementary or day care school children. I am continually amazed at how tolerant these birds are of the people milling around, often within 10 feet or less.
When we went to look for the cranes on 5/17 we were surprised to find that they were not there. We were a bit concerned since on a previous visit someone told us of a mink that came close to the birds causing the adults to spread their wings and look threatening in order to chase it away. If predators had taken the babies the adults probably left the pond. The next day (5/18) we again saw no birds at the pond. As we were leaving we met another couple who told us that the birds are now foraging for food in the nearby residential neighborhood. Sure enough, when we walked up another path to the street we found all four cranes walking around in someone’s front yard. They were poking around for grubs and bugs just like they had been doing by the pond.
In the week since we first saw them in the residential area we’ve only found them down by the pond once. The rest of the time they’ve been feeding in people’s front yards, which is where we found them again this morning. We assume that they return to their nest at night but have not been there to observe that. The chicks have gotten quite a bit larger but are still that same fluffy brown. Their feet still look way too large, as if they have clown shoes on and, even though the adults still feed them occasionally, the babies now walk around poking their bills into the ground to find their own food.
As one of the adults (the male?) walked across a driveway this morning it headed over to a parked truck and started pecking at it. At first I thought it was picking dead bugs off of the chrome but it just kept pecking. I suspect that it saw its reflection in the chrome and was trying to protect its territory by chasing that “strange bird” away. (I know I feel that way some days when I see myself in the mirror in the morning.)
Here are a few pictures of the cranes taken this week.