Sandhill Crane Week 24

11/28/16

Sandhill Crane Two adults and the 24 week old juvenile forage in the small prairie area next to Tiedeman's Pond.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile is bigger than either parent, so it may well be a male. Its crown is changing color.

Sandhill Crane All three are more alert than in the past, not for any one thing in particular. Maybe it's the migration thrill ramping up.

Sandhill Crane As always one generally is studying the surroundings when the other two are busy with their heads down.

Sandhill Crane Even the juvenile has guard duty now.

Sandhill Crane Looking off over the pond at a few Canada Geese endlessly yakking away as they like doing.

Sandhill Crane Something over there interesting to more than one for the moment.

Sandhill Crane With such a thoughtful stare and scrutiny, it makes you wonder what's going on in its head.

Sandhill Crane When heads are down it's easy to tell what the thoughts of the moment are.

Sandhill Crane Now the gaze wanders to the nearby hiking trail busy with talking people and their dogs. They might be thinking about handouts from one house.

Sandhill Crane A lot of natural foraging in the muck of the marshy area and retaining ponds. Crossing in a row to the opposite side.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile veers off to the right as the two adults ascend the bank.

Sandhill Crane A few swivels and concentrated glares from the juvenile, but nothing edible flickers below the dark surface.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile followed its parents, but turned at the edge of the small pond for one last look. No luck.

Sandhill Crane Breaking the always on watch rule, the adult supposed to be on sentry instead does a bit of grooming.

Sandhill Crane After that they head down in the bubbling mud at the edge of Tiedeman's Pond itself.

Sandhill Crane This is where the long legs come in handy. They waded in almost up to their bellies before returning.

Sandhill Crane More hunting, but not much going on in the food pantry.

Sandhill Crane More people passing require more stares to be sure it's still safe.

Sandhill Crane Now they spend much more of their time studying what's way off there than foraging, even more so than in the summer.

Sandhill Crane Off for another try at the edge of Tiedeman's Pond.

Sandhill Crane That lasted for only a minute. Then all headed back toward the building just north of the little park on the west side.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile led the way onto the gravel path.

Sandhill Crane Pausing at the new textures, they studied things a bit before crossing toward the condos nearby.

Sandhill Crane The juvenile still has a white toe nail that it had all summer, so that hasn't changed yet, if it will?

Sandhill Crane Maybe go back to the pond. There might be overlooked prey there. Nope

Sandhill Crane The juvenile approaches a bird bath to see if it might have good water or not.

Sandhill Crane Yes. Then in for a drink at the bird bath at a convenient height for a young crane. Within a few weeks they'll be in New Mexico or Texas and the juvenile will be on its own not too many weeks after that. The next phase in its life...

© 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.

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.

© 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.