Beautiful bird.
Felix

Great birds, I love to watch them. They walk with such a regal attitude. Was he/she alone? I usually see them as a pair and now with a bunch of chicks.

thanks for sharing this picture :-)

Evelyn

Yes, usually they are in pairs. But only 1 this time. She(he?) waited while I went in for bread and camera and husband. And my outdoor (feral) cat was there and you should have seen her face. She gave it plenty of distance - (probably thinking now that's a big bird.) And when the crane left she had to check out a piece of bread that was still there to see if she was missing anything.

Please don't feed them, though. People food makes their eggs soft and endangers future generations.

http://www.ecofloridamag.com/askeditor_feeding_wildlife.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: about feeding cranes

You know writersblock you are right. I am so used to feeding the birds in my yard, I didn't think about it. Thank you for the information.

Oh , you're welcome, atreelady. They are tempting to feed, aren't they--so beautiful you want to get closer to them.

Great photo, BTW. Forgot to say that before.

Fantastic photo! So nice to have one visit you up close and personal. I think it is probably true that people food isn't usually good for any wild critter. (Heck, most of it isn't good for US!) But as you say, VERY tempting, especially when trying for a picture as nice as this one. Maybe next time, you can find a grasshopper or something similar to entice him with. (I can see you now, creeping around your yard, trying to catch insects or lizards to lure the cranes with!)

Marcia

Plant an herb garden.
They'll rush to dig it up.
I did that once for a client.
She called me that same afternoon after I planted her garden, in hysterics. A group of sand cranes was uprooting everything.
Her husband, who was in his last days of life, was laughing hysterically, watching all the commotion from the window.
She thanked me most sincerely for having a most wonderful afternoon with her husband.
He passed only a few days later.
I returned the next day and uprighted everything.
Funny how life gives you everything you need if you relax and take what it gives you.

Nice pic!

Nice picture. I miss seeing the sandhills like I used to at my old house in Lo'L.
I have a "friend" who is always feeding the wildlife including raccoons and sandhills. I have gotten into heated decisions with her about the sandhills and how it is bad to feed them. How can garlic bread with butter be good for them??? (Hmmm sounds good to me!) She can't get past HER need to do what is right. Telling her is was against the law didn't faze her.

We have them here occasionally but usually just see them flying to and fro, and trumpeting. They are LOUD!

At my old house I used to have them in my yard several times a week looking for snacks in my lawn. I can watch them for hours.

Beatiful pic of a grand bird. Thanks for sharing!

Great picture! I don't feed them either but when my mother was alive it was one of her great pleasures. We used to argue about it all the time, especially after she started collecting stale bread from all the neighbors! The birds would congregate at the patio door about 6:30am and call to her to come and feed them. The racket was unbearable! After she moved to a retirement home she continued the practice and every morning would have an audience of elderly folks watching for 'her birds'. She even called herself CraneLady here on GardenWeb. After she was gone, the cranes hung around the retirement home and convinced other residents to feed them. They're very opportunistic.

What a nice story Solstice. I don't think the cranes like the no feed idea at all. hehe.

It was a sweet story, Solstice. And you know, it's not the feeding them that's particularly bad. It's the bread that isn't good for them. Empty calories, just like for us. I really think if one fed them something more nutritious...even dog kibble...it would be fine. They are relatively easy birds to tame anyway, and quite used to people, often. But too much bread is not a good idea for anything. However, having said that, I'm glad your mother enjoyed them so much, Kate. And we will just assume that those she fed also got plenty of other stuff that was better for them, and fared just fine.

Marcia

Looking for juicy bugs in our backyard.
{{gwi:873699}}

Oh Florah - Babies. They are soooo cute. Lucky you! Did they nest nearby?

My sad story. There is a pair of cranes that live near me. They had two babies earlier this year & every morning they would pass through my yard from the vacant block to the lake. One morning I heard them making the most awful loud noise, as only a sandhill crane can. Looking out the door, I saw two stray dogs chasing the adults through the neighbors yard. I ran out, yelling & waving my arms. The dogs stopped, looked at me for a moment then left. Obvious, the adults were trying to lead the dogs away from their young. A few minutes later the adults reappeared with only one baby. Obviously, the dogs had killed one. I have pictures I took the first time they came throught my yard with the babies. They were covered in their soft yellow down before any feathers appeared. It makes me so mad that people let their dogs run loose.

Does your city/county have a leash law? If so and you can verify whose dogs they are, there may be action you can take, happygirl. Dogs running loose make my blood boil, not only because of the mischief they can get up to, but for their own safety. I live on the corner of a busy street and dogs that get loose in my neighborhood often don't survive long enough for the owners to find them again.

Great picture, Florah! The babies are adorable! They can come hunt bugs in MY yard any day!

Marcia

Marcia, yes the city has a leash law but I have no idea where the dogs came from. I've never seen them before. Lots of people walk their dogs in the neighborhood, but my thoughts are, these dogs are the type that are kept locked away in a back yard & when they do escape, terrorize the area. I hope that is not the case.

What a great picture! I think it's so neat that some of you have 'large' birds for visitors. Do you live near water?

FlowerLady

FlowerLady, I live on a lake, but I saw sand hill cranes standing on a street corner watching traffic in Kissimmee once.

We have small ponds in the neighborhood and two pairs of sandhill cranes with babies which are much bigger now. I took the photo in April.

The only problem in feeding them ( just like alligators) they will approach people
for food even if there isn`t any. And unfortunately , can get very upset
when they aren`t fed.

I remember in Fort Lauderdale seeing some well fed Muscovy ducks hanging around
the convenient stores. They would literally fly up in your face as you left the store
hoping your would drop your bag of chips.Very VERY aggressive.

The sand hill crane is such a large bird. I would hate to see a child get hurt.

Okay, I am paranoid :(

D`Ann

Oh, the babies are so cute! Thanks for sharing Florah.