Sandhill Crane Family Outing

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These Sandhill Cranes kept us company most of the morning, as they strolled and foraged along the same trails we chose to walk. They were clearly right at home here, and utterly unperturbed by our presence.

Sandhill Crane chicks can leave the nest about 8 hours after hatching (!) but, like this long-legged juvenile above, they stick very close to the parents till the age of about 9-10 months (All About Birds).

Like so many of our year-round Florida birds, “The future of Sandhill Cranes is mainly tied to the fate of their habitat. It’s particularly important to conserve wetlands  in the ranges of nonmigratory populations, and in staging and wintering areas where large migratory flocks congregate.” (All About Birds).

According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sandhills are  “quite omnivorous feeding on seeds, grain, berries, insects, earthworms, mice, small birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, crayfish…” (FWC)

Read and listen to more about the elegant Sandhill Crane at the International Crane Foundation and on eBird, too!

P.S. Thank you to my terrific husband for the cool video in this post~! For those who may not have been able to view the video above, I’m trying again to link it here below:

53 thoughts on “Sandhill Crane Family Outing”

    • Thanks, Berny – it was fun walking along with them and the other sandhill crane pair for much of the morning. And thank you for the terrific video of this little family as we entered the wetlands trails!😉

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  5. Fantastic series of images! Sandhills seem to have adapted well to loss of wetland habitat here in MN by foraging in residential lawns, especially after the sprinklers have gone off!

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  10. Your photos are great, Carol. I like the Sandhill Cranes a lot, I’ve seen them many times in Florida, sometimes they are very calm and other time they get very shy. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

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    • Yes, these cranes were very laid-back and seemed not to even notice us. Though on occasion, the little one peeked up at us as if he wondered why we were watching them. We encountered another calm pair (without a juvenile) later on our walk.

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  11. So elegant like most cranes and lovely to see the youngster, and I enjoyed seeing them in the video. Long may the wetlands survive to sustain them and other migrant species (along with all the resident critters too of course!),

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  15. It does my heart good to see these healthy sandhill cranes and to hear about their success in Florida, BJ. And how great to see a thriving juvenile, too. Their populations have struggles in some parts of our country, and, sadly, it is even legal to hunt them in 16 states. So when I see a video like your husband’s, and that gorgeous wetland you were exploring and these healthy cranes you shared, it really does make my heart happy. Thank you.

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  16. What a wonderful experience – and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it, especially watching the video. It does my heart good to see such contented, healthy-looking birds. 🙂

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