Sandhill Crane

there are so many of the birds around. it's nice to know they have a safe area to establish a population. but, they are annoying when it comes to gardens - they just love digging things up. they're also an interesting site when they leap, jump, dance and prance

Last summer, sandhill cranes ate all the koi out of our 20 by 20 foot outdoor pond. They're back, and we're not as happy as we were a few years ago.

Editorial comment: this sounds far more likely to be a Great Blue Heron, than a Sandhill Crane - Ed.

These large birds are amazing creatures. We see them whenever we visit our friends in Rockledge, Fl. They walk along the waters edge and sometimes we see them flying overhead. They have a rather loud, rattling call that can be heard from quite a distance. This pair stood preening for a long time and then one would stop, walk up to a window of one of the town homes and stand there looking in. He actually was probably seeing his reflection in the window but it looked as if he was stopping to chat with a neighbor!

I was able to get within a foot of this pair and they didn't seem to be fearful at all. I possibly could have gotten closer but didn't want to overstep bounds and just feel grateful they allowed me to take their picture!