Every year, my brother plows the big field (the one where we do the annual butterfly rescue) and plants it with all kinds of good things for the critters to enjoy.
This year, the sandhill crane family kept him company while he was doing most of the work. I was out in the gardens picking good things for us to enjoy at the time, so I got to stop in and watch a bit of the fun.
These cranes have been successful in raising youngsters a couple years in a row now, so we're very happy about that. They kept an eye on the tractor's progress and were particularly fond of the point where my brother refilled the
seed dispersal unit and it would leak a little pile of grain onto the ground, but
bugs that got unearthed in the process were very popular, too. The crane on the right noticed something moving in the dirt and pounced on it very enthusiastically.
Here's another picture of the family milling around at the edge of the field a couple weeks later, after the seeds had germinated and started making tender sprouts to nibble on. Not to mention nibbling on the grasshopper population that had moved back in to enjoy fresh green shoots.
The young cranes don't have their red caps yet, but they are starting to turn rusty. (Mom and Dad are on the left and right and the two not-so-little ones are in the middle. Click on the picture, if you want a closer view.)
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