Hey! Look at the Field

At first, it looked like someone had spread decoys across a picked field of corn.

Then the decoys started to move.

Hops.  A distinct gait.

It looked like a loosely organized traveling party.

My first look for some reference material  indicated a gathering like this is called a stage.

Just hanging out to eat fallen kernels of corn a mile or two from the Wisconsin River, these Sandhill Cranes are gathering up for a flight to Florida for the winter.

It's common to see these tall birds while out and about in Wisconsin.  Back in the late 19th Century the birds were in trouble, then saved with the Federal Migratory Bird Act in 1916 that protected them from hunters and efforts to reclaim wetlands.

Light on their feet, the tall bird only weighs around 8 pounds, but with an impressive 6 to 7 foot wingspan, their call can announce their presence from a good distance on a quiet day.

You will see them again sometime in March as they settle back in at home to raise a family.  Family means a lot to these birds, as they select a mate around age 4 and live as many as 30 years together.

The families usually fly south in November with the cold winds carrying them as high as 5,000 feet on their long graceful flight south. 

They eat underground stems and a diet balanced with worms, grasshoppers, snails, and sometimes small snakes, birds, and mice.

That's a varied diet! 

There may still be time to drive around this week to find a large 'stage' in your area.  The best spots to see the large gray birds with the red 'cap' is near wetlands and farm fields.

Happy Birding!