The Sandhill Cranes Are Gathering

On Sunday we went for a drive east of Stayner to see if we could find the Sandhill Cranes gathering.  We've seen them there before.  In this part of Ontario the cranes separate into breeding pairs over the summer, but congregate in habitual areas before migrating southwest to the southern U.S.  It's quite the sight to see the large birds gathered in flocks of 500 or more as they feed on fallen grains before migrating.

We got there and could only see 3 cranes, unfortunately directly in the sunlight from us.  They're a huge bird, four feet tall and with a wingspan over six feet.  A bit like a Great Blue Heron but bulkier.

In any case these three didn't like being disturbed, and moved on.

We drove some distance south and west a bit. passing large harvested corn fields.  Eventually we came upon this flock, spread out in a long line on the farthest edge of this field.  The cranes seem to have a knack for staying as far away from vehicles as possible.

In the next field we were a little closer, and the cranes were in a field of winter wheat which made them stand out more clearly.  There was more to come, but you'll have to wait for the next post for that.  So far we had counted about 100.

****

A Note on Photography

I've included the photo below which is largely uncropped, to give you an idea of how far away most of these birds were.  The phone camera can certainly zoom in a lot, but at these distances it becomes to hard to even hold the phone steady enough to get a clear picture.  And once you start cropping that picture it get blurry almost immediately.  It's enough to send me back to my big Nikon.

But it records the experience for us, which is what matters.

Can you see the 13 cranes in this shot?

Winter Birds?

We didn't see many birds last winter, and didn't see many in the yard this summer, not even the Song Sparrow that we've always had.  So I was pleased this morning when a little flock of what looked like winter birds flew through, high in the maples.  I grabbed my monocular to look and they were Downy Woodpeckers, not just one or two, but several!  The photos are limited shooting just with a camera.

At least you can see these are Downies.

Another stopped high in a maple.

And then another bird joined it, partly hidden by a branch, but behaving like another woodpecker.

It turned toward me and I saw it was a Junco, though I don't usually spot them high in a tree.  They are normally ground feeders.  There was also a Chickadee or too as well.  In any case I take it a good omen for this year's winter birds; hopefully we'll see lots!

The Tree

Just around the corner is a large Sugar Maple tree that I stop at frequently.  It's become a favourite because I can get close enough to take pictures of the lower leaves.  Just two weeks ago it was a bright orange torch!  Here are a selection of my pictures of just this one tree.

Here is the tree just 10 days later.  Sorry about the wires on this one.

More of My Fall Colour shots

After shooting about 400 shots of our Sugar Maples out back, I've concluded that they are slightly different colours.  One is a deeper orange and one is a more yellowy-orange.  Here are a few pix to try and show that.

Can you see that difference in these shots?  The left pair of trees are more orange, while the right one is almost yellow.

I've always thought of the right hand tree as the bigger one, but in fact the left hand two, though smaller in diameter, reach toward a higher canopy.

I can really see the yellow colour in these two shots looking upwards.

And these are just two pictures I liked!

The Sun and the Moon

Every now and then Mrs. F.G. comes rushing in and says  "Gimme your camera!"  And when she does she usually comes back with great results.  Here are two of her recent captures. 

Sunrise out the front door.

The Hunter's Moon

I'm Flummoxed!

Fall colour has exploded all around us, especially right here in our own backyard and I've taken far too many pictures of it!  We have three Sugar Maples out the back windows, and you can get 1000 different pictures of them, from close-ups of a few leaves to shots of the whole yard.  But I like to have a theme, at least in my own head, when I write posts, so how am I supposed to sort 400 pictures into meaningful posts!?  You'll just have to take what you get.

An early shot just as the colour is changing, and a recent shot with almost fluorescent colours!

Another pairing of shots about 10 days apart.

The distant Sugar Maple on the golf course - west half.

And east half.  That will have to do for today.

Those Distant Sandhill Cranes

Let's take a look at those Sandhill Cranes, in a distant shot across the scrubby pasture.  They were certainly a long distance away, and I'm only using my phone camera, so they're not as clear as I'd like, but Sandhill Cranes in this area are fascinating in several ways.

This is a dist6ant shot; I've tried to crop those below to get a closer image.  They are huge birds!

Sandhill Cranes are big birds, about the size of a Great Blue Heron, but fatter.  They certainly have a similar wingspan, up to four feet..

They were unknown in this region 20 years ago, being largely a western bird, but they've appeared further and further east in recent years.  They are now common in north-eastern Ontario and on Manitoulin Island - so common that farm interests are arguing for a hunting season.

The cranes feed on almost anything, from small invertebrates to grains and berries.  We frequently see them on harvested corn or soybean fields.

Cranes mate for life and choose a mate based on their dancing displays, during which they leap into the air with wings outstretched and bob their heads.

Their call is an earie prehistoric bugle sound that carries a great distance.  You often hear them overhead before you see them.

The cranes migrate in great flocks, heading to the southwest U.S. where they over-winter in flocks of thousands.  Here they gather in small flocks like the one we saw, gradually coalescing into large flocks for migration.  The Sandhill Crane is truly one of our most fascinating birds.