Sandhill Crane
photo © 2005 by Melissa Whitmire

Sandhill Crane
photo © 2005 by Dan Chambers

Sandhill Crane
photo © 2005 by Emily Tyler

     On February 10, 2005, a Sandhill Crane appeared in a cut-over corn field on Osseola/Ossippee Rd. in Northeast Guilford County, hanging out dangerously close to the highway, enough so that the wind from large trucks knocked the bird off its feet. To the best of our knowledge this bird was first seen around Christmas on a dairy farm about a mile from the location on Osseola/Ossippee Road. Sunday, April 3, was the last day the bird was seen. It was a wonderful run and he is missed but hopefully he has joined other cranes and will find a mate and make little cranes.
     What an incredible experience it was to become acquainted with such a magnificent bird! It also was great getting to know the local families whose property the bird chose. The crane became particularly comfortable with a nine-year old boy who would “dance” with the bird and make it call back to him, a sight to behold.
     It is still a puzzle as to how this bird became so comfortable around humans. In corresponding with a man in Nash County who has captive Sandhill Cranes for research purposes, we learned that Sandhills kept legally would have a back toe clipped. This bird had all its toes intact. It is unlikely this bird originated from the resident population in Florida which is characteristically tame due to living in close proximity to people, according to experts. Rather, it is more likely this bird is part of a population of Sandhill Cranes that winter in Tennessee or Georgia which was migrating south in late fall or early winter. They may have stopped here to rest and feed and this bird didn’t leave with the others.
     The last Sandhill Cranes seen in Guilford County, and the only documented sighting until now, was during a two-week period in December 1987 – January 1988 when three cranes were spotted in a cornfield on Stanley Huff Rd in the Northwest part of the county. Unlike this bird, they kept their distance from the road and from humans.
     If you are interested in seeing some more photos taken by Melissa Whitmire, Will Cook and me, go to http://www.carolinanature.com/pix/sandhillcrane.html
     For a wonderful description of the crane’s behavior a couple of days before he departed, look at Greg Georges’ piece following.
                                                                                                      -Emily Tyler

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     I watched the sandhill crane forage for food for maybe as much as five hours. He dug holes that were practically up to his eyeballs. He would flip twigs and corn stalks up in the air when he dug
and did not come up with food. It looked like a demonstration of crane frustration to me. After foraging for a few hours he would stand on one leg and preen. It was amazing to see the shapes he got into. At one point he looked like a sculpture on one leg and later he looked like one big feather ball on one leg.

-Greg Georges, Chapel Hill