Sandhill Cranes

A few weeks ago, I spent nearly a week at my son’s residence. Behind his home there is a storm-water wetland that is also home to a pair of sandhill cranes. When I arrived the cranes were tending a nest of two, large nearly brown eggs. The eggs were somewhat speckled. I took a few photos of the cranes taking turns sitting on the eggs and standing guard. I patiently waited behind some pines and felt marvelous that I was able to actually see and photograph the eggs when the male and female traded duties so as to be able to stretch their legs, feed and provide front-line security. Later I learned that the pair had been on the nest for nearly 30-days and in the world of sandhill cranes, colts typically emerge at around 31-days. I kept returning to the scene over the next few days and witnessed the first colt to hatch. What an event. The baby crane wobbled, and cuddled against the female in the nest. The male spent more time near the nest and area crows began to spend more time peering down from the nearby pines. As the single crane I saw gets older he or she will learn to feed on insects, frogs and fish by himself or herself and will learn to fly. He will stay with the adult pair for nearly year before he will find his or her own wetland to occupy. They are territorial creatures and once they find a mate, they will mate for life and raise young colts together.




See for yourself in the images I captured the beauty I found in nature that week when my two grandchildren took their naps, nearby in their beds. God takes care of the young and helpless by giving them loving parents, who provide security, food and training.


Luke 13.34 – Allow God to protect, feed and nurture you.