Sandhill Cranes

For todays' Wednesday Wonder I am going to talk about a subject that I have been wanting to talk about for some time now. Today it is time. There is a fascinating natural event that happens every year at Fruit Grower's Reservoir. It is the migration of the Sandhill Cranes. It is truly a wonder. These birds start in Southern New Mexico and Texas, have a one day stop over at Fruit Grower's and then fly onward, I believe to Idaho. They mate for life and generally lay two eggs a year, with only one surviving on average. They are noisy and beautiful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhill_Crane We have been observing them on and off for a couple of weeks. When they take off on certain mornings, they fly right over the ranch and our barn. Truly a sight to behold. They catch the thermal updrafts and it can take them half an hour to get high enough to fly over the Rockies. This weekend marks the beginning of Eckert Crane Days. http://www.eckertcranedays.com/events.html. I am very excited. In my free time, I am an amateur birder. Someday when I am not busy raising munchkins, I plan to be less of an amateur birder. Much like this fascinating woman,  http://evelynhorn.com/, we met giving a presentation at our local library.