Title: Simmons Sunset
Digital Art
NWJ
Art
Art by Norman Johnson
Explore St. Augustine, Florida
Fine Art for Home and Office
Cranes
To make it easier to picture the sandhill crane in the wild, browse the images below.
The sandhill crane (grus canadensis) can be found from northern Canada across to Alaska and eastern Siberia and a far south as Mexico, the southern United States and Cuba. There are seen rarely in China, Korea and Japan, and very rarely in Europe. There are three non-migratry populations: Mississippi, Florida, and Cuba and six migratory populations: eastern flyway, mid-continent flyway, rocky mountain flyway, lower Colorado River flyway, central valley flyway, and the Pacific flyway. They migrate from their breeding gounds in the north during the warmer months to the south during winter. you will see them in open grasslands, meadows, seed fields, and shallow fresh water marshes.
Great soaring birds, they hold their necks straight in from of them and trail their legs behind. They can live up to 35 years in the wild and form flocks of over 10,000 birds during migration.
The cranes main diet consists of seeds and berries, but also eats small mammals, insects, snails, grubs, snakes, reptiles, amphibians, etcetera, depending on availability. They forage in grain fields, open grasslands, meadows, and fresh water marshes and bogs and usually nest in mardhes or bogs.
Sandhill cranes are highly gregarious birds, with pairs and families making up the primary social units. They roost in large groups and feed in large flocks.
Fluffy Golf Ball BW
A sandhill crane does its imitation of a fluffy gold ball by standing on one leg while burying its head in the feathers on its back. I found this crane in a field in southern Hillsborough County on a warm summers day in 2016 near Riverview, Florida.
Click image to see full picture.
Sand Hill Crane Breakfast
This sand hill crane parent is showing a baby what to look for and how to get it. They would not let me approach when I was alone, but let me get very close when I was with my granddaughter. It was almost as if they sensed it was safe to let me approach because it appeared that I also was with young.
Click image to see full picture.