Sandhill Cranes

I was doing the essential lawn work today at the lake house and decided to set up the telephoto camera in case my Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) eggs hatched. I was hoping that with the 1,000 mm (37 inch) lens I might be able to get a shot of the eggs or the little colts with their mother. For the last month all I've been able to see with the much shorter 250 mm (10 inch) lens is the female sitting on the eggs. . . or so I thought. Above, about 2:30 pm the female got up off the nest, stretched. . .and started wading and foraging in the puddle that surrounds the nest.



Above: 30 seconds later the male appeared from beyond my view and stood over the nest. He carefully moved the eggs around and then sat down on the nest while his mate foraged. The image above was shot with about 300 mm (11 inches). With that magnification one cannot tell the difference between the male or female.



Above: It was uncomfortably hot for me. . . so I imagine it was worse for the birds out in the full sun. Here he appears to be panting. Unfortunately there is too much swamp grass in the foreground for me to see the eggs, even with this magnification.



Above: I tried to reposition the camera and tripod a bit to see if I could actually see the eggs. The male stood and took a defensive position over the nest. The birds stand about 4' tall so they could be quite menacing, I would imagine. They must have very good eyesight as I was sitting on our berm 1/2 mile (792 meters) from his position.

In another week the puddle around the birds will surely go dry. The lake is virtually dry already. We haven't seen water levels this low since February of 2001.



Above: I was very happy that the female isn't sitting out there all alone -- as I'd been thinking -- but they still have a lot of hazards to overcome. With the lake so low there is the ever-present threat of humans trampling their nest. Overhead there are plentiful hawks, osprey, eagles, and vultures. I try not to obsess about them but I do wish them well. They've had great difficulty in past years when the water rose suddenly and when their eggs failed to hatch.

In theory it is time for their eggs to hatch. I've been watching them for about a month. Their gestation period is 30 days.

To the naked eye one sees something blurry and indistinct. With binoculars one might see the image above, made with about 500 mm (19.6 inches) of lens magnification. If you click on the above image for a large view you'll see there are some ibis nesting in with the Sandhill Cranes. . .in that last patch of swamp grass that remains surrounded by water.