Photos and text just in from Marlene in Florida.
the Sandhill Cranes –Antigone canadensis
They have a nest behind our site. The female and male take turns sitting on the nest. They walk around the campground checking everyone out. The other day I missed a great photo when an alligator swam over to the nest. The male Sandhill poked the alligator with his beak and the alligator swam off. Notice the red eyes they have. The male is a few inches taller then the female but hard tell when they are not together.
Sandhills cranes winter in Florida not far from where we live. They are very cool looking but quite noisy.
That is a regal bird!
I had no idea that they are so tall- great post.
Beautiful, I had no idea they were so tall and had red eyes. Great post thanks for sharing!
Seeing them so closely is a treat. Cool eyes, and twig legs. Brave papa to push back a gator!