Young Sandhill Cranes are Growing Fast

The Sandhill Crane family continues to visit my backyard several times a day to eat the dried, whole-kernel corn I put out for them.  Both youngsters are growing noticeably fast.

One unusual thing about Sandhill Cranes is that their knee bends forwards instead of backward.  I’ve seen them stand on one foot and scratch their chin with their other foot.

Earlier this year I saw an adult Sandhill Crane chase a raccoon out of my backyard.  As the Raccoon was leaving the yard and entering the marsh, he was unknowingly heading in the direction of the other Crane sitting on the nest about 40 yard away.  The Sandhill Crane ran across my yard, charged into the marsh, and chased that Raccoon until he was heading in a different direction away from the nest.  Raccoons are serious predators of eggs and young birds, and Sandhill Cranes are very protective of their young.

The Red-wing Blackbirds that live in the marsh around my house think they run the show around here, and they don’t like interlopers wandering through their territory.  Some of the bolder ones will dive-bomb the Sandhill Cranes when they pass through.  On one occasion a Red-wing Blackbird didn’t pull out of his dive soon enough and landed right on the Crane’s back.  The Crane swung his head around to look at the Red-wing Blackbird and seemed to be thinking . . . “Did you just land on my back?”  The Red-wing Blackbird was looking back at the Crane and probably wondering . . .“Did I just land on your back?”  It was very comical.

Picture from Flickr Creative Commons.

Labels: Home and Garden