Cranes

This morning, just before I got in the shower and just after Kent had left for work, he called to say there were two cranes in the empty lot across the street.  "Quick!" he said. "Go out and see the cranes!"  I was not in a fit state to go anywhere except to the shower, but I took care of washing, got dressed quickly, and went out to see if they were still there.

They were!  I was delighted because they were really lovely birds.  I took over the Birds of North America book so I could figure out what type they were and if they were native to Utah.  I had never seen them before, but that doesn't mean anything.  Turns out that they are Sandhill cranes, migratory and were probably just passing through.  They were hunting around for things to eat, and I watched them for fifteen minutes or so before I had to go to school.  It was exciting to see such beautiful creatures at such close range.

From what I read in the bird book, I thought the cranes were lost.  Their normal habitat is not Utah, nor does Utah seem to be below their flight course.  But Kent checked out the Utah birders website and discovered that they are common to our area at certain times of the year.  They can be shot, and when someone on the website asked why anyone would want to shoot one, someone else responded, "They are delicious."  I chose to only shoot them with my camera.  Here's the proof.

Adult stained Sandhill cranes