Lucky.

On the top of my neighbors 2 story house. At first I thought I was imaging it

I remember visiting him years ago and a pair of cranes landed near his home in Northern Wisconsin. He said they were a very strong spirit animal; it is a sign of good fortune & hope, and the universe wants to communicate with you.

Not sure where you're located. I grew up in upper midwest, NEVER saw them (& back then,
Canada geese were still migratory). Never saw one til I moved to CA (we have a large
overwintering population, and a small breeding population in the Cascades).

On a trip to WI a few years ago, they were everywhere, at roadside rest stops, at heavily
touristed lakes (not just reserves).
Aldo Leopold wrote an essay about 80 yrs ago saying they were likely on the way to extinction at least in the midwest.

We have them here. I'm seeing more and more of them also.

They’re all over here just gotta be around water which in Michigan ain’t hard. Was hiking along the AuSable the other day on the water were Trumpeter Swans, very vocal, Sandhill Cranes, quite vocal, and Canadian Geese, vocal enough. It was loud and the trail is about 150-200 feet above the water so you get a sound chamber effect, hard to describe.

The sandhill cranes make an odd sound, don't they? There is a place where they usually nest and it's in a pond. I can get really close to the nest to see them without binoculars, but some years if we have torrential rains, the nest ends up under water and the momma disappears. You'd think she'd learn to not build a nest there, but every year she tries again.

And they are really loud.

Minnesota wetlands are nesting sites for them.

Where is this? What state?

Thanks for viewing.

People come from all around to see the cranes gather by the thousands....


https://www.naturalistjourneys.com/tours/2023/03/19/platte-river-cranes-a-migration-spectacular

So beautiful!

yard yesterday.

Glad you got a picture of it.

We have them in my area. You can walk right past them on the sidewalk and they don’t fly away in fear.

Of course I would never approach them with the intent to touch them.

we would hear them passing overhead, an unforgettable burbling sound — pure magic.

where 100s of sandhill cranes landed on their way to wherever. I guarantee you, the sound was not our magic!

sometimes they land in the corral and steal the goldfish we keep in the water troughs.

Dinosaur legs, reptile eyes, little brain.

And not photogenic at all like this beautiful crane.

...had floor to ceiling windows. There were several Sandhill cranes who used to hand out there, and sometimes they would tap on the windows as if they wanted to come in.

It was always a thrill to see one up close. They are HUGE.

They are naturally gray in color. They groom themselves with mud, which is what gives the brown color to some of their feathers.

There are some tasty snacks in the grass!

I love them. When I hear them in February or March, I know spring is coming!

There is a large nesting area not too far from me. They are such a welcome sight!

But a small flock of about a half dozen seems to winter along Rio Mimbres about 1/4 mile away. We see them cruising over the river every so often.

I think it's a damn shame that they're still allowed to be hunted in some states.

I caught a glimpse of what I thought was snow. When I pulled the focus back to check it out, I saw the field held thousands of snow geese with about 30+/- of these red trimmed sandhill cranes among them, towering over the goose "herd". They looked like feathered shepherds watching over their feathered sheep. I looked again for them every year and often sighted them. The western reaches of the island are(were) on one of the *great bird migration routes.

We had an odd couple here in N. Florida a few years back. I always wonder what that story was. Two lost cranes in my backyard, sans snow geese entourage.

*How did I know they were on migration? Because their little placards said, "Yucatan or Bust in '79". Ah, nature.

great shot of a cool encounter.