Yesterday when I was raking snow off my roof, I heard and saw a sandhill crane headed north. It should have been headed back south as there is no bare ground at my place and my pond is still frozen. The crane might have been reading a calendar since seven years ago, they came back to this scene where there was no snow remaining. Otherwise, the female crane might have sent the male (as they mate for life) ahead to find the perfect nesting spot before the spring rush, but locating a good spot under two feet of snow might be tough.

Crane Back Early

The robins were adding their voice to the bird choir along with the rest of the winter birds who seemed happy the sun was out and not snowing. Lofty voices were heard up high in the sky but I wasn’t able to spot the sandhill cranes as they flew overhead. With their large wingspan, cranes can ride the air thermals and they can stay aloft for many hours with only occasional flapping of their wings.

Sandhill Crane

Some robins have been spotted in the area, even though I haven’t seen any in my yard yet and I saw a few flocks of geese heading north as well as some cranes. The sandhill cranes won’t find any open ground by me yet so they have to fly to another location if they don’t stand in snow. The earliest Sandhill Crane fossil, estimated to be 2.5 million years old, was unearthed in the Macasphalt Shell Pit in Florida.

Sandhill Crane

With the mention of snow and ice in the forecast and below freezing temperatures at night, it is a good thing that I haven’t spotted any hummingbirds back yet. But I bet some of the other birds that have returned wished they were still down south, including this Sandhill Crane.

Sandhill Crane