Again, not a huge bird person here, but I'm trying. Thanks for all the info on the Whooping Cranes, Dave. I know a bunch of them nest during the winter south of me at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. I admit, when I first liked Corkscrew on Facebook, I assumed they were owned by the state. But it's actually run by the Audubon Society! And I have to say, I think they're doing a better job, quite frankly. I've been meaning to wander down there to check it out since they also have other interesting things like the Super Ghost Orchid and the extremely endangered Florida Panthers. Not sure I want to actually run into a panther, but it's good to know they're there.
I see Sandhill Cranes all the time, and I'm always checking them out to see if they've got any Whooping friends, but they never do. I confess, I think Sandhill Cranes have to be one of the dumbest animals I've ever seen. They walk into traffic so much! There's even a sign in my neighborhood that has a crane crossing sign. People are generally pretty good here in Florida because we do have a lot of wildlife (and I live in a suburb so it's even worse). Unfortunately, I saw a Sandhill Crane dead on the side of the road a couple of weeks ago. I was just surprised I haven't seen more. At least they're tall enough and tend to travel in small groups so you can see them coming from a distance even if you're going the speed limit (45 mph) up the main road I live off of. I was driving to a doctor appointment on Monday night and there was a group of Sandhill Cranes on the east side of the road. One flew right over the cars (barely) to the west side. Well, then the second one tried it but he landed right in front of a car in the southbound lane (I was northbound)! He did a quick bounce of his feet, opened those wings, and got across. But I was smacking my forehead and yelling, "Stupid bird!" I felt kind of bad for the driver it jumped in front of. They also don't seem to respond to honking your horn or scooching your car real close to them. So you kind of just have to wait until they decide to move on. Oh, and they're really, really loud!
I hope the Whooping Cranes are smarter. I guess it's a good thing they have the Sandhills to hang out with, though. Safety in numbers, I suppose? I'll have to plan a little trip south soon, but I'm kind of waiting for it to warm up since I'm more of a butterfly person. I imagine the Whooping Cranes will be gone, but maybe I can see some other cool stuff. I actually have a little Florida bird field guide; I just need to start studying it!
