Can you even imagine 25,000 to 35,000 of these magnificent birds taking off from the river at sunrise. Awe inspiring, Leone was actually crying with emotion, their cry is so eerie and with that many at once it is unlike anything you can imagine. As they circled from the river they blotted out the sun which was just peeping over the horizon. We actually have a smaller group of birds here than they do about 50 miles east of here so it is hard to imagine what the spectacle must be. There was a nice story in the Omaha paper yeasterday about the volunteers that come here every year to help out with the hordes of visitors that visit the blinds and sanctuarys, one was from British Columbia, he has been coming here for the last 14 years and says he really isn't a bird watcher but the sight of close to a half million of these large prehistoric birds has captivated him. He talked about a woman from New York state that came out to a blind one sunrise and did nothing but complain, too cold, too dark and too early but when the birds left the river she began crying, touched his arm and apologized.. Even someone that isn't greatly into nature would have a hard time not being impressed when the birds blacken the sky and begin calling.

Kendra2, I've got to admit that sort of sight never gets old or less of a treasure to me. The amount of cranes coming over gives me hope, too, that their numbers are increasing. That day I saw all the circling I would guess I was seeing somewhere in the range of 300+ birds. That's just one of many times I've heard them, so it's really encouraging. I can't spend all day craning my neck to watch the birds go over, but I wish I could - the Wood storks don't make a real identifiable 'call' (some hoarse croaking, kind of, occasionally) and we've had them fly over low enough before to identify, so I'm hoping and wondering if I'm missing them this year. Still would love to know if anyone has seen that behavior or if it is taking advantage of a thermal. You know how it is... curiosity killed the cat. :) Ging

Nice shots...the 1st one looks like they're dancing...I only heard just a touch of their sound...but they do sound cool... Juanita

Fantastic! Thanks.