For some reason these Herons/Crane (I don’t know for sure which) have taken over our farm…I’m not complaining. But I would like to have both types land here. It seems where the Herons/Cranes are the Geese don’t land, so somehow in the world of birds the word has gone out…No Geese Allowed. We sometimes have hundreds and hundreds of these lovely birds.
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
Part of living on a farm near Delta comes not only from the grandeur of Grand Mesa and the Uncompaghre Plateau, but life itself, enriching human spirits and making who we are something more as daily chores and the work of the farm goes on. This is essentially what I get from your blog, Linda. The work bundles up into life and the the history of place and the endless variety of the natural world flying like hundreds of herons minus geese through your day. Wonderful.
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That is pretty neat! We only see a large number at a time if we go up west to the big wildlife refuge where there is a rookery.
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you live in a beautiful area!
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We noticed these in the fields in large numbers last week as we went through Delta. We thought they were cranes. Thanks for setting us straight! 🙂 Beautiful birds!
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My dad called this type of bird – slough pumpers. It’s hard to get close to them and I’ve never ever seen a dead one of any kind to even look them over a bit closer. The more the merrier.
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Wow. That’s great. You’re very lucky. 🙂
Merry Christmas!
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Wow……I see one at a time here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two together let alone a sky full.
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I’m not particularly at wild bird I.D., but those look like whooping cranes to me. I don’t see how this could be. If they’re whoopers, aren’t they accompanied by war planes or some other government force protecting them?
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If they ARE whoopers, that’s why the geese aren’t hanging around, they’re expecting to get shot if they harm one.
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We see a few down here. I had one land in my stock tank once. I’ve never been more surprised in my life! They certainly are beautiful and I’m amazed at how many you get. They must be migrating?
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Wow! lucky you to have such visitors. We see sandhill cranes here, but they are browner with red heads. Good to see whooping cranes are coming back from extinction.
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The first thing I thought of is the corn that you wrote about being spilled when something went wrong with a piece of equipment. You are so lucky to see these magnificent birds at all, much less in such huge numbers. We are in the flyway for some migrating birds but nothing like these!!! Thanks for sharing. The photo is great.
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We get them too sometimes. I think it’s almost a sign!
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They look like Sandhill Cranes to me Linda. I studied them for quite a few years along the Platte River in Nebraska and also here in the Dakotas, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Sometimes in bright light their silvery grey feathers “appear” almost white, but Whooping Cranes are almost blindingly white. No mistaking them and they really are only seen in sizable flocks on their wintering grounds in Texas. The Sandhills love feeding on any waste grain or corn you may have left in the fields after harvest, as well as any bugs and little edible critters in the fields. Enjoy! Cranes are one of my favorite birds!
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I’ve not seen Whooping Cranes in a long time! Great picture of them. We just get sandhill cranes and a gazillion Canada Geese for the winter.
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Wow!
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Great photo! I wonder why these birds and the geese avoid one another. Interesting.
I somehow got “behind” in your posts so I’ll try to catch up…so much going on this month! 🙂 Thanks for your comment on the hummers…my response to your comment is “come on down!” 🙂
daughterm.blogspot.com
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