By Neil Stalter 

 

Spring arrived right on time this year with a tender reminder.  Nestled within a marshy area of Grand Harbor a messy nest took form – and there under the watchful care of a pair of long-legged elegant birds two mottled eggs appeared and survived 30 days of incubation. A life cycle was renewed.

 

Two baby Sandhill Cranes entered our sanctuary to the delight of the Audubon crowd. Almost immediately, the chicks began to eat voraciously from their parents' great beaks. Within two weeks, they were moving along in their watery surrounds and taking cues from the adults. It takes just 50 days for these juveniles to fledge and take to flight. Thanks to a cadre of skilled photographers, we have a record of these early stages of progress.

 

We have only one species in our midst that might confuse your identification of Sandhill Cranes, and that's the Great Blue Heron. But, if you add a bustle to the heron, then decorate his head with a scarlet cap, you have the crane. He stands about four feet tall with a wingspan up to seven feet. That makes the crane hard to miss.

 

However, many birders will point out that you often hear this bird before you see him. The call is a raucous, grating rattle “gar-oo—ooo” that can be heard a mile away. Several years ago, when one Sandhill Crane lost its mate due to a collision with a car at the front gate, we heard the plaintive calls from the widowed bird. The calls were sadly incessant for days. These birds are usually lifelong monogamists.

 

Sandhill Cranes are marvelous flyers. In North America, when they flock after the breeding season, they fly in large numbers so high they are out of sight. However, our Florida sub-race does not migrate, so we are able to watch them fly closer to earth. Their majestic flight is accompanied by an unmistakable and loud “whoosh” as they pass by usually in pairs.

 

Like their cousins, the Whooping Cranes (white and even larger in length and wingspan but not native to Florida), the Sandhill Cranes are long livers. In the wild, they will live as long as 20+ years; in captivity, cranes have lived 40 years.

 

Among the special features of Sandhill Cranes is their courtship dance. They are renowned for this loud display of dipping, bowing, leaping and flapping – all to loud yelps of male competition. Cranes are also known for their aggressive behavior, notably when defending their territories or feeding areas. This pattern of rightous protection means we are limited to one or two pairs of Sandhill Cranes in Grand Harbor.