A Visit to the Sandhill Cranes

It's Winter and that means it was time to visit the Sandhill Cranes at Staten Island.

No, not that Staten Island!  This Staten Island  is in the San Joaquin/Sacramento Delta and is operated as both a farm and a wildlife preserve by an affiliate of the Nature Conservancy.  It is the winter home of many Sandhill Cranes.

During our visit the cranes were mostly foraging and we saw few active interactions between them.

Nor did we see the variety of species that we have seen on previous visits.  There were a fair number of Northern Shovelers with their large beaks.

There were several pairs of Common Goleneye.

And a single Eared Grebe was spotted.

We also saw a Red Tailed Hawk and a coyote.  Perhaps we will get a chance to revisit Staten Island this season or one of the many other refuges in California's Great Valley.

Find other views of our wonderful World at Our World, Tuesday and look for more images of birds at    Wild Bird Wednesday.

Sandhill Cranes

We recently took a couple of birding trips to view Sandhill Cranes.  Though I wasn't pleased with the images on either trip, I will share some of the best.

There are several places in the Central Valley of California to view the Cranes in Winter.  One area, called Staten Island, is owned by the Nature Conservancy and managed to benefit wildlife.  Here Cranes, Geese, Swans, Ducks and other birds can be found foraging in the flooded fields.

 Observing behavior is the most interesting part of viewing wildlife.

 It is not just to see the animals but see them interacting with the environment and each other.

If you watch the cranes for any time you are sure to see some interesting interaction.

Not far from Staten Island (an island formed by rivers and canals) is the Woodbridge Ecological Preserve, our next stop.

Wave goodnight, Gracie

 As the sun was setting, it seemed to draw the cranes attention, it was time for them to head to their night time roost.  The crane's foot does not have grasping toes as do herons and egrets so they head to water for the night.  If they stayed in the fields they would be prey for the coyotes and bobcats.

Find more views of Our World at Our World, Tuesday, hosted for us by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.

Find more birds at World Bird Wednesday, hosted for us by Springman.

If you find yourself in the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta in winter and want to know where to view the cranes, Staten Island is here and the Woodbridge Ecological Preserve here.  Good viewing can be found along Woodbridge road, not just at the view platform.