Sandhill Crane At the end of a good stretch, protocol demands that the bill taps the ground for balance. |
Sandhill Crane Made for aviation. Flights are becoming very frequent, with the parents following along. |
Sandhill Crane The juvenile all fluffed up like some kind of over the top peacock. |
Sandhill Crane The legs have turned black like those of the adults. Maturity a day at a time. |
Sandhill Crane The bill has a little way to go, but the stare is impressive in intensity and thoughts. |
Sandhill Crane Winding up the wings and the flght muscles for another circuit around the fly zone. |
Sandhill Crane A few flaps and quick strides and the juvenile is airbone, legs trailing below. |
Sandhill Crane Straight off toward the pond, but the invisible boundaries cause it to veer to the side. |
Sandhill Crane A couple more flaps and the legs drop back down for a gradual landing. |
Sandhill Crane Included is a full flare of the wings to >help brake on the short runway. A parent lands right behind. |
Sandhill Crane After a brief pause and a few more worms and bugs, the juvenile is ready for another flight. Run and flap. |
Sandhill Crane Up ten or fifteen feet, leveling off. It could be hundreds of feet up, and will be surprisingly soon. |
Sandhill Crane And back down, bill open as if it's doing a brag about all the wonderful flying. |
Sandhill Crane Throughout all the developments, the parents continue to feed the juvenile. Here a parent walks over with a cicada from twenty feet away. |
Sandhill Crane All three working a particularly good spot. The juvenile size is now about halfway between that of the smaller female and the larger male. |
Sandhill Crane Pedicures are part of the constant grooming. |
Sandhill Crane A take-off from one corner of the mowed area, tantilizingly aimed straight at the open water of the pond. |
Sandhill Crane Quick strides and an increasingly easy and powerful downstroke. |
Sandhill Crane Up and banking skillfully, veering at that invisible boundary of the known safe zone again. |
Sandhill Crane Still more strokes for altitude. |
Sandhill Crane Nearly twenty feet high, leveling off again, aiming for as far away as possible still within the open space. |
Sandhill Crane Looking just like an adult flying over, Miles and miles to go. The invisible barrier will evaporate as if it never existed. |
Sandhill Crane High enough that landing can be stage by stage, unhurried and precise. |
Sandhill Crane Touchdown. Success. Flight height and distance have been increasingly so gradually that learning to land from speed has been done safely. |
Sandhill Crane Keeping their meticulously close watch, the parents parachute in right behind the juvenile, as they do on every single flight. |
Sandhill Crane A bit later, the juvenile drinks water from a thoughtfully set out wash basin it has known most of its life. It used to hop in and splash about when tiny. |
Sandhill Crane Suddenly a brazen squirrel blundered in, scaring both itself and the juvenile, who jumped straight up to safety in a blink. |
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