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Sandhill Crane

Grus canadensis

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33.7711, -106.887

Field Notes

Description:

There are six subspecies of Sandhill Crane. The sandhills at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge are mostly lesser and Canadian subspecies. These are large wading birds characterized by long legs, necks, and bills. A red patch of skin is found on the forehead and they have a white cheek patch in breeding adults.

Habitat:

I photographed these sandhilsl as they flew from a feeding area in an agricultural field (planted to provide food for snow geese and cranes) to a nighttime roosting area in a shallow lake/wetland. These two species tend to nest in Canadian and Alaskan tundra. Several thousand lessers cross the Bering Straits and nest in Russia.

Reference Links:

Sandhill Crane

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (5)
Gordon Dietzman
Lori, It's such a great place. Wetland on one side of the road, desert on the other and species from both within feet of each other. I could spend an entire winter down there and never get tired of the place. Actually, that sounds like a really good idea....grin.
lori.tas
Hey Gordon, Bosque del Apache is one of my favorite places. I used to live about two hours north of there and in the winter, every so often I'd head down to see the dawn flights. It was so amazing to be in the middle of all of that morning activity (35k+ geese and 3k+ cranes, plus the "Whoops" [whooper/sandhill cross]). Also, the crepuscular light was awesome. IMy photos from those days are mainly prints, but I'll see if I can scare up a few digitized ones.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
2011 Best Wildlife Photo
Photographed
PublishedMay 22, 2011

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