View allAll Photos Tagged Crane
Tower cranes dominate the view from Hampstead Heath towards central London. St Paul's Cathedral, The Shard and Guy's Hospital are centre shot.
The community where my brother and sis in law lived (me too, for a while) in Florida is bordered by a large preserve expanse of savannas. Prairie like grasses, wet basins, marshes, home to a complex ecosystem for a number of species of wildlife and flora.
I followed a trail one day, on the lookout for wild boar, snapping turtles, bald eagles, armadillos and such.
What I spotted was a crane.
Cranes live in that same community alongside the people, very neighborly like. They walk down the street, come on your lawn, sometimes your driveway. When the babes are big enough to come out of the nest, you'll see the family walking around and you can watch the babes grow.
So seeing a crane wasn't such a novelty, but since it was in the savannas it qualified as "wildlife".
Other than some mosquitoes, and a few worms it was the only wildlife I saw.
🇺🇦
A Sandhill Crane flyover on it's way to more than 1,000 acres of wetlands, pastures, and agricultural fields. This land is a major wintering area for waterfowl in the Pacific Flyway as well as an important wintering area for the Sandhill Cranes. We are really lucky to have these beauties Winter in the Pacific NW. Photo taken at Shillapoo Lake.
A pair of sandhill cranes from among the twelve thousand or so sandhills that will over-winter at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge this winter.
President Theodore Roosevelt designated Florida’s Pelican Island as the first US wildlife refuge in 1903. The National Wildlife Refuge System has since grown to more than 560 refuges, 38 wetland management districts, and other protected areas that collectively cover 150 million acres of land and water. There is at least one national wildlife refuge in every state and territory and within an hour’s drive of most major metropolitan areas.
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge on the Tennessee River, Alabama, USA. December 1, 2018.
Two young sandhill crane colts pause while exploring their big new world!
(I hope you like sandhill cranes because I have a lot more like these to post!)
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Sandhill Crane Colts
Antigone canadensis
Kane County
Illinois
USA
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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!
Not all cranes fly to warmer countries for the winter. Some of them stay in the country where they were born and where they later raise their young.
WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre.
What3Words
///trailers.ripen.grownup
The Common Crane (Grus grus), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a large, graceful, migratory bird with a distinctive trumpeting call that is widespread across Europe and Asia. Known for its elaborate courtship dances and conservation success story in areas where it had previously become extinct, it is classified as a species of Least Concern globally.
Key Characteristics and Appearance:
Size:
As the UK's tallest bird, the common crane stands around 110–120 cm (about 4 feet) tall, with a large wingspan of 220–250 cm (7-8 feet).
Plumage:
It is mostly slate-grey, with a black and white head and upper neck, and a notable bare red patch on its crown.
Distinctive Feature: Adults have elegant, drooping, curved tail feathers (actually elongated inner wing feathers or tertials) that form a "bustle".
In Flight:
Unlike herons, cranes fly with their long necks and legs fully outstretched. They often travel in large, V-shaped formations and can reach astonishing altitudes of up to 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) during migration.
Habitat and Diet:
Common cranes are highly adaptable, inhabiting a variety of wetlands, including bogs, marshes, and swampy forest clearings during the breeding season. During migration and winter, they often gather in large flocks in open areas, such as agricultural fields and floodplains, where they can forage for food and roost in shallow water for safety.
They are omnivorous, with their diet changing seasonally. They primarily eat plant matter like roots, seeds, and grains, supplementing this with animal prey such as insects, snails, amphibians, and small rodents, especially when breeding and feeding their young.
Behavior and Life Cycle
Sociality:
Common cranes are territorial during the breeding season but become very social, forming large flocks during migration and wintering.
Courtship:
They are famous for their elaborate "dances," which involve bobs, bows, pirouettes, and throwing vegetation in the air. This behavior serves to reinforce lifelong monogamous pair bonds and can occur at almost any time of year.
Reproduction:
Pairs typically lay one or two eggs in a large nest built on the ground in shallow water. Both parents incubate the eggs for about a month, and the chicks fledge around 9-10 weeks of age, remaining with their parents through their first winter.
Lifespan:
In the wild, they typically live for about 13 years on average, though they can reach up to 26 years.
A faraway crane somewhere in the NE corner of the Adelaide CBD, as seen from the 5th floor of the AutoPark carpark on Gilles Street.
WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre.
What3Words
///trailers.ripen.grownup
The Common Crane (Grus grus), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a large, graceful, migratory bird with a distinctive trumpeting call that is widespread across Europe and Asia. Known for its elaborate courtship dances and conservation success story in areas where it had previously become extinct, it is classified as a species of Least Concern globally.
Key Characteristics and Appearance:
Size:
As the UK's tallest bird, the common crane stands around 110–120 cm (about 4 feet) tall, with a large wingspan of 220–250 cm (7-8 feet).
Plumage:
It is mostly slate-grey, with a black and white head and upper neck, and a notable bare red patch on its crown.
Distinctive Feature: Adults have elegant, drooping, curved tail feathers (actually elongated inner wing feathers or tertials) that form a "bustle".
In Flight:
Unlike herons, cranes fly with their long necks and legs fully outstretched. They often travel in large, V-shaped formations and can reach astonishing altitudes of up to 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) during migration.
Habitat and Diet:
Common cranes are highly adaptable, inhabiting a variety of wetlands, including bogs, marshes, and swampy forest clearings during the breeding season. During migration and winter, they often gather in large flocks in open areas, such as agricultural fields and floodplains, where they can forage for food and roost in shallow water for safety.
They are omnivorous, with their diet changing seasonally. They primarily eat plant matter like roots, seeds, and grains, supplementing this with animal prey such as insects, snails, amphibians, and small rodents, especially when breeding and feeding their young.
Behavior and Life Cycle
Sociality:
Common cranes are territorial during the breeding season but become very social, forming large flocks during migration and wintering.
Courtship:
They are famous for their elaborate "dances," which involve bobs, bows, pirouettes, and throwing vegetation in the air. This behavior serves to reinforce lifelong monogamous pair bonds and can occur at almost any time of year.
Reproduction:
Pairs typically lay one or two eggs in a large nest built on the ground in shallow water. Both parents incubate the eggs for about a month, and the chicks fledge around 9-10 weeks of age, remaining with their parents through their first winter.
Lifespan:
In the wild, they typically live for about 13 years on average, though they can reach up to 26 years.
A long exposure across the River Lagan to the Titanic Museum and the iconic cranes of the docks called Samson and Goliath.
Thanks for the visit and any faves and comments. Have a great weekend!
This Whooping Crane was photographed in the same location as the Sandhill Crane I posted yesterday, a few hours later during a pause in the rain. Both species of crane hang out in this field, along with some other cool bird species.
The 2023 count for Whooping Crans wintering around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is 536, including 88 juveniles. The population is considered stable for now. They've recovered from a low count of 43 in 1967, but they're still considered critically endangered. We've visited the Aransas NWR area several times over the years and it's always a thrill to see these magnificent endangered birds.
A very rare sighting here. This young Whooping Crane was spotted by several people in a marsh north west of Edmonton, and the word got around quickly. I was at the right place and time today to get this shot as it flew by me to land on a field where has been foraging a long distance away from the road I was standing on.
This is a young non-breeding individual that did not go up to Wood Buffalo National Park, or is taking his sweet time to get there. No urgency for it.
The whooping Crane's primary natural breeding ground is Wood Buffalo National Park, in Canada's Northwest Territories and Alberta.
They winter in the coastal marshes of Texas, particularly in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
Dies ist eine Dreier-Familie. Üblicherweise werden 2 Eier gelegt, wenn alle Jungtiere durchkommen hat man also 4 Familienmitglieder.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
Crowned Crane, Ngorongoro Crater - Tanzania
Crowned Crane (Grey crowned crane) is found in nearly all of Africa. It is the national bird of Uganda and adorns the country's flag.
Sandhill Crane
The Virus chased me out of Florida early this year! My hope is that good health follows all of us ... and that those touched recover quickly
Many thanks to all those who View, Comment and or Fave My Photos... It is greatly appreciated... Roy
All images full frame unless the filename reflects "Crop"
Sandhill Crane.
Between 34 to 48 inches in length with a wingspan of nearly 7 feet. They are very tall with a long neck and long legs. Largely gray with a red forehead. Juveniles are browner and have no red on head. Their plumage often appears a rusty color because of iron stains from water of ponds or marshes.
They inhabit large freshwater marshes, prairie ponds and marshy tundra. They are also on prairies and grain fields during migration and in winter.
They range from Siberia and Alaska to the Hudson Bay and south into western Ontario. There are isolated populations in: the Rocky Mountains, the northern prairies, the Great Lakes, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. They winter in California's Central Valley and across the southern states from Arizona to Florida.
Kensington Metropark, Livingston County, Michigan.
A pair of sandhill cranes engage in the avian equivalent of a WWE* match, while the two cranes on the left provide commentary on the interaction. Several sports betting companies have expressed interest in providing wagering opportunities on the outcome of these antagonistic behaviors, though numerous details still need to be worked out.
*World Wrestling Entertainment, also an influencer of American politics
Quite a surprise for me! First time I've seen Cranes (to my memory), and probably the last!
Taken from one end of a field with the birds at the other end, so please excuse the quality of shot!
Cranes (latin Grus Grus) are the tallest birds to come to Britain at 1.2 metres. There are around only 30 breeding pairs in the UK.
Crane Departure, Morning. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Sandhill cranes take to the air in morning light above Central Valley wetlands.
In my experience, bird photography often involves a whole lot of sitting around, thinking about where the birds might be, stopping and watching and hoping that they will engage in some interesting behavior. The actual picture making can take up a small percentage of the total time on task, with vast slow times in between. (And that’s not even counting the long drives — usually in the dark — to get there and back.)
My photographs of sandhill cranes on this autumn morning might be illustrative. I drove two hours in darkness to get here a half hour before dawn. I followed a levee road out into agricultural and wetland country, not seeing all that many birds, at least not of the sort I was looking for. Eventually, in a place where I was not necessarily expecting to find them, I came upon a large flock of sandhill cranes in a pond. It was still before sunrise when I decided to stop and see what developed here. I made a few quick images in the low light, but then I mostly just sat there and… watched. Eventually some of the birds became more active and a bit later the first semi-directional sunrise light came weakly through the fog. And a few minutes after that happened small groups of the birds began to depart. Then they were gone and… not much else happened until I left a few hours later.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.