Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

I saw this flock of sandhill cranes in Albuquerque, New Mexico twice- once on Saturday, February 4th, and once on Sunday, February 5th, 2012. They were at the Rio Grande Nature Center. I had gone there both times looking for a greater roadrunner with no success (reminiscent of the wood duck incident of 2011). The flock of cranes was a nice surprise. I had only seen these birds one other time, in a field near the Ski-Hi Fruit Farm in Baraboo, Wisconsin last year. I had just left the International Crane Foundation, and it was nice to have seen a flock in the wild, but it was too far away for any close observation. While this sighting didn't add any birds to my life list, it did add a photo op and some video footage of them to my collection.

The sandhill crane is one of two cranes we have in North America, the other being the whooping crane. Sandhill cranes like to winter in New Mexico, and they can often be found in large numbers there during the winter. You can read more about these cranes here, and more about the Rio Grande Nature Center here.