Glad to see these guys

[jinman]

Those are Sandhill Cranes, that's the most I've seen in one flock around here although I see them this time of year and in the spring heading back north. On the news, there is a bunch of Whooping cranes going through here, that was yesterday also, just a little east of here, sure would have liked to have seen them, led by an Ultra-Lite on their way to Fl. for the winter.

I counted 60 birds in your next-to-last attachment. They were really too small and hidden by tree limbs for an accurate count in the last picture, but I'd approximate 100 birds total. That's a pretty nice flock.

 

[milkman]

I counted 60 birds in your next-to-last attachment. They were really too small and hidden by tree limbs for an accurate count in the last picture, but I'd approximate 100 birds total. That's a pretty nice flock.

I hadn't thought about counting them, but I took the original of the last picture and I counted 101, but on the left, there were some that wern't in the picture. That was the biggest flock that I've seen flying over, but in the early '90s I was coming east through Nebraska along the Platte river and on the north side of the freeway, on the ground, there were geese in the fields as far as I could see to the north and it went on for about 15 miles, after I ran past them about 30 miles, there was the same thing only they were the Sandhill Cranes, as far as I could see and they went for 7 or 8 miles, never saw so many birds in my life, totally awesome.

 

[Bird]

I know nothing about Sandhill Cranes, but I understand from what I've read that they are hunted for food. But I've never heard of anyone eating any other variety of cranes. Is that true?

 

[MossRoad]

Yes. People hunt and eat sandhill cranes. I do not believe there is a season for them here in Indiana, though.

Hunting-in-Texas.com (Sandhill Crane Hunting)

Sandhill Crane Hunting Sandhill crane pictures taken during guided hunt

Not far from South Bend, In, about 40 miles south, shouthwest, is the Jasper Pulaski Fish and Wildlife area. The sandhills come through spring and fall during migration. Sometimes the flocks number in the tens of thousands. VERY loud birds. Once you hear them, you will never forget it. Here's a link to that fish and wildlife area. There are some videos of them and you can hear them pretty well.

Welcome to the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife Web Site

The first time I heard them was about 1989 or so. I was ice fishing with my wife and a good friend on a really warm day, about 50 degrees. The air was damp and a fog hung low to the ice to a height of about 5'. We only needed sweaters that day. The sun was shining on a light brown grassy field on the north shore of the lake we were on. About a dozen deer were bounding across the far end of the field along the tree line. We heard a sound that we never heard before, looked up, and there were about a dozen long necked birds flying single file coming up from the south. They were huge birds. At first I thought they were great blue herons because of the long legs sticking out behind them. But herons fly with their necks bent, and these had their necks sticking straight out. As luck would have it, the heat was rising off that field. The birds appeared to be about 250' up and started gliding in a large circle as they rode the thermal up from that field. They spiralled up for a good 10 minutes until they were at some dizzying height and we could barely see them. The whole time we could here them, though. Then, the lead bird broke north and the spiral unwound back into a straight line and off they went. Just then, two geese came honking across the lake through the fog and about blasted into our group. We all waved them off and started laughing as the geese skidded to a landing on the ice about a hundred yards away and started strutting around honking at everyone on the ice. The whole time we were out there we could hear water trickling due to the warm temps. As we made our way off the lake, the one inch crack we stepped over on the way out was now a three foot opening at the shore. We had to jump across to get off the ice. That was our last trip out that year. The whole day, not one of us landed a single fish, yet it was the best day fishing I ever had.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Nice pics and thanks for sharing.
It's that time of the year again.

 

[Manitou]

Yes, they are Sandhill Cranes. Their arrival in huge flocks here on Manitoulin Island for the warm season is documented in the newspaper every spring. Gatherings are held in the spring to watch their courtship "dance" and again in the fall, every year on the same weekend, to watch huge migrating flocks fly in to the farmer's fields for a rest before they leave for their winter homes. They are a common sight here in many farm fields over the course of the summer and date back to prehistoric times. They are a tourist attraction here for many birdlovers. Garry

 

[Bluecheck546]

I think those birds are storks... but, i maybe wrong.

 

[MossRoad]

I think those birds are storks... but, i maybe wrong.

I think the wood stork is the only stork native to the United States and it lives on the south only.

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)

 

[RobertN]

Northern California is in the Pacific flyway. Lodi has a festival every year
Lodi Chamber of Commerce - Sandhill Crane Festival

 

[Egon]

It is/was illegal to hunt Sand hill Cranes in Alberta.

Usually the flocks came through about four days before a storm. It was rather neat to watch them flying close to the ground and then start circling in an updraft till you could barely see them. When they hit the wind they would disappear in about 1/2 a minute. They also had a very distinct call. Many times you could hear them but they were so high you could barely see them.