Sandhill crane

I caught this photo of a sandhill crane in the marshy area not far from our home. We often hear the crane calls and occasionally see one or a pair of them fly over the house. I just love these beauties! If only I had a telephoto lens. :(

Amazing! I always think of sandhills as a western bird. Certainly not as far east as WI.

Thats so cool Kayly! Your so lucky to have them so near.

You're not alone! About 20 years ago my parents had sandhills on their property. They called the National Crane Foundation to report the crane activity (they were breeding on a hilltop near the river). The folks at the Crane Foundation said, "Bah! We don't have sandhills around here; it must be some other type of bird." But they came out to investigate and, sure enough, they were sandhill cranes!

Since then the population around here has exploded. We have a lot of rivers and wetlands nearby and the cranes love them. I also occasionally see a great blue heron right near downtown Watertown standing majestically in the river near the dam. He's there every year, but I have yet to see him with a mate.

We seem to have a great blue in town, seim-rural. It likes the frogs in the middle of a park pond. So do the candian geese which are a problem. I don't have a telephoto lens (or a digital camera) but can zoom with my little Olympus. That you for posting the picture, it gave great pleasure when some birds are in trouble.