Sandhill Crane End Of Week 10

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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No photograph from this blog may be reproduced or used
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American Redstart

American Redstart Just passing through, very flitty as usual. Fall migration underway.

American Redstart Looking at the feeders, but nothing there of interest.

Great Blue Heron A Wood Duck house makes an excellent perch when not actively on the hunt.

Great Blue Heron However, off to another perch closer to the hunting zone.

Green Heron Easily spooked, the Green Heron changed a good spot for another across the pond.

Cedar Waxwing Neatly arranged on a curving treetop against the crisp, blue sky.

Red-bellied Woodpecker An immature Red-bellied Woodpecker perched entirely fluffed up.

Red-bellied Woodpecker Some of its fine, downy feathers are shedding like an early molt.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Always very quick and very active, pausing only for a micro-second while bug hunting.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Next bug coming up. Ready to launch.

Olive-sided Flycatcher A good size comparison to the smaller Eastern Wood Pewee perched nearby.

Whitetail Fawn One of two fawns of a family at Owen Park, the mother nearby. This fawn has found many stickers.

Cedar Waxwing With bugs swarming at a tree top, a flock zooms up and down to capture what they can.

Cedar Waxwing The swarm is so thick that each quick flight through is a meal.

Downy Woodpecker Sometimes the Downy goes entirely upside down.

Eastern Wood Pewee Looking regal, and briefly quiet.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird A male turned just so for its throat to glow with reflected sunlight.

Osprey A frequent visitor at Stricker's and Tiedeman's Ponds for abundant small golden carp or goldfish.

Osprey It usually takes umbrage at any interruption.

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No photograph from this blog may be reproduced or used
in any form or by any means whatsover.

Sandhill Crane Week 10

Sandhill Crane On a foggy day the wings are working well, with one of many runs and take-offs. Age, about 70 days.

Sandhill Crane Showing good form, legs together and trailing as some elevation is gained.

Sandhill Crane A great height of maybe eight or ten feet at the top of the flight of almost a hundred feet.

Sandhill Crane After turning and landing, then hopping and flapping back toward the adults.

Sandhill Crane Some dancing comes next, hopping up and down in a circle, flapping for height.

Sandhill Crane An adult definitely likes the idea of dancing, something else to learn when growing up.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile and one of the adults danced around each other. Exciting for both.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile doesn't know why it's exciting, but wants more dancing as the adult skips away.

Sandhill Crane Chasing in earnest. More. More.

Sandhill Crane The dancing adult pivots near the other adult, who is stirred up a bit, yet not part of it.

Sandhill Crane Still, spinning around, everyone has wings flared out and taking part.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile is persistent about more dancing.

Sandhill Crane The parent turns to oblige.

Sandhill Crane Back to circling and hopping straight up with strong flaps and great wing displays.

Sandhill Crane The adult shows off a good hop and flap.

< Sandhill CraneSandhill Crane The adult shows off a good hop and flap. Throw in a few low bows to mix it up.

Sandhill Crane The adult spins away with the juvenile gladly following. All very thrilling.

Sandhill Crane Then a big mix-up as all three weave back and forth and doing flapping runs.

Sandhill Crane The adult tries to start winding things down before the excitement becomes too much.

Sandhill Crane Wings folded, the adult conveys calmness and all-doneness.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile is having none of that. All the extra energy has to go into another flight.

Sandhill Crane Not much of one, but with the hops and flaps in between, it covers ground rapidly.

Sandhill Crane Getting airborne without a lot of height, but high enough for a few flaps.

Sandhill Crane The legs are trailing behind in excellent form good for a longer flight when the time comes.

© Michael Bailey All Rights Reserved; Not for reproduction.
No photograph from this blog may be reproduced or used
in any form or by any means whatsover.