Thursday, June 30, 2011

A Different Morning Chorus

Yesterday morning Toby and I passed this pair of cranes down the road from our house.  When Toby started to bark, they took objection.   The one crane started to bob its head, open its wings with a powerful whump, and lift both feet off the ground - jumping in place, suspended by its wings.  It was telling us that it was big and powerful and capable of defending itself should we decide to come any closer.

Of course, I didn't have my camera.

This morning I took the camera and the cranes were back.  But Toby decided to control his barking, so they did not feel threatened.  No dancing today.

Still, there is nothing quite like the prehistoric calls of cranes.

I've often held turkeys up as the example that dinosaurs still roam this planet.  If you don't believe it, just watch a turkey as it walks along a field.  Better yet, watch a whole flock of 'em.  Then recall the scene from Jurassic Park where a herd of dinosaurs goes galloping past the camera.  You will easily see the similarities.

But the calls made by these cranes...there's just something about them that echoes through time.  Close your eyes and listen to this video.  Then tell me if you can picture pterodactyls.



5 comments:

  1. Yeh, I think you're right, Ellen. Those vocalizations sound prehistoric! I believe that house wren is a bit more melodious!
    Thanks for your posts!

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  2. Enjoyed the video. Way cool! Def. prehistoric.

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  3. Interesting sounds for sure. My daughter lives in FL and the Sandhill Cranes used to come up behind the first condo she lived it. I don't think I had ever seen them before so I was quite struck by them. Stopped the car every time I saw one. Do these cranes stay in your area all year or do they migrate south and maybe to FL? Think I'll have to look that up.

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  4. Nice post, I have seen lots of Sanhill Cranes in Big Spring Texas but there were so many I couldn't hear the individual sound. Very interesting and I agree they do sound prehistoric.

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  5. Those are big birds! When I think crane I think delicate, not ostrich-like! Interesting sounds, too.

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