cranes

Some of the largest birds I've seen in my life have been sandhill cranes. Living in central Texas, we would hear raucous clattering and chattering outdoors, only to find a flock of cranes, making their way overhead, noisy as a bunch of teenagers on a Saturday night. They passed over around Thanksgiving as they were arriving from the north heading to winter on the gulf coast of Texas. One winter, driving between Port Aransas and Corpus Christi, we passed seashore type meadows and could see the colorful head of cranes, with red markings, peering above the tall grasses. They must have been close to five feet tall.

Traveling through south Florida around 2003, a pair of sandhill cranes wandered the parking lot of a motel where we spent the night. We were told they spent a lot of time hanging around, and were given food by those who worked there.

I've never seen the whooping cranes, rather perilously low in population. The only other cranes I've seen, just as fascinating although not of the same formula as birds, are the very tall construction cranes, used to build skyscrapers in cities. They are visually appealing. When I've been in a spot where I can sit and watch them, they look like strange creatures, hob-nobbing in the wilds of the city.