On the evening of May 13 my 12-year-old son Gregory Clark spotted this “huge orange stork-like bird” as we drove past a farm on Middle Road in Chilmark.</p>
On the evening of May 13 my 12-year-old son Gregory Clark spotted this “huge orange stork-like bird” as we drove past a farm on Middle Road in Chilmark.
Sandhill crane, a thrill to see on the Vineyard.
Sandhill crane, a thrill to see on the Vineyard.
We turned the car around and were able to sit and watch this amazing creature as it foraged in the meadow grasses.
Upon arriving home we tried to look it up online but were not having success. Then my mother Joan Williams, who is 87 years old and has seen just about everything in this world, and knows nature best of all, called out, “sandhill crane!” It just came to her as a possibility. Sure enough — that’s the fellow!
But a sandhill crane shouldn’t be on Martha’s Vineyard, or anywhere near the East Coast of New England, it should be in Nebraska, en route to nest in Alaska, from wintering over in Florida — strange. We hoped to see it again, but thought that this was a just resting stop, and that come nightfall it would resume its migration, headed north and west to Alaska.
Then yesterday, while gardening at the western tip of Squibnocket Farm, I heard what I had learned just the night before to be the trilling, piping call of the sandhill crane. I looked up and there he or she was, way, way up in the sky, huge wings slowly gracefully flapping, neck pulled in, long, powerful legs straight out behind. What a thrill!
I followed it in my sights, even snapped a distant photo, before it was out of sight. It looked to be returning to the meadow where we had seen it the day before. I got into my truck and headed over there. Sure enough, far in the distance I spotted the sandhill, moseying along through the grasses, picking at this and that.
What a wonderful majestic bird. We know it doesn’t belong here, but we hope it will stay a bit, and then go to where its own kind are to start a family.
Comments
Very exciting. I would love
BKVery exciting. I would love to get a look too.
Yes, a beautiful bird. How
Pat Dania Beach & EdgartownYes, a beautiful bird. How wonderful to see on the Vineyard. Thanks for sharing your "sighting".
Sandhill Cranes are
Donna Russell Braddock Bay, New YorkSandhill Cranes are delightfully surprising! We who live near the Braddock Bay Raptor Research Center spend every Spring with eyes trained skyward, in awe of the thousands of raptors (49,000 to date this year, 64,000 last year...and there are many thousands more never counted) that, having reached the cold waters of Lake Ontario on their migration, lose the warm thermals that kept them aloft and sink into local fields and forests. They rest for a bit, then fly east and west along the lake shore until they find a route that avoids 50 miles of cold waters between the US and Canada. And every Spring, a small contingent of Sandhill Cranes fly over the neighborhood with the hawks and eagles. Few area birders are aware of this....the cranes' fly-over lasts mere minutes. But a few folks who arrive at the platform are searching not for the rare Northern Goshawk or the ubiquitous Turkey Vulture.....but for the amazing Sandhill Cranes....all six to ten of them in one small flock. We can no longer call them "mis-directed". They never let us down. This seems to be a choice or learned behavior, or maybe there's a spirit of adventure in some Sandhill Cranes and one has now spotted the beautiful Vineyard and had a go for it. Perhaps it will find your "welcome!" to its liking and decide to return, with a few friends, to thrill you all in future years. Here's hoping!
I heard a Sandhill Crane,
Scott Hecker Duxbury, MAI heard a Sandhill Crane, perhaps this one, at about 6AM the early morning of May 14 or 15 while getting out of bed in Duxbury,MA. It called while passing over the house for about 30 seconds.
I remember from a summer
Gee Gee Barden, Porter Ranch, CA, and Oak BluffsI remember from a summer years ago an exciting visit to the Vineyard of another "off course" Sandhill Crane. For anyone wanting to learn more about the cranes of the world, of which there are 15 species with the Whooping Crane being the most endangered, visit the website of the International Crane Foundation, located in Barabou, Wisconsin, at www.savingcranes.org. This organization does amazing work around the world, helping to save the cranes, their ecosystems, and this beautiful planet that is our home. A visit to Barabou to see the wonderful facility there would be well worth the effort.
Sandhills cranes are one of
Aron Levy WTSandhills cranes are one of the few things I miss from my time studying in Florida. You think you know 'majesty,' and then you see a flock of Sandhills cranes take to flight. Such remarkable animals!
We have Sandhill Cranes here,
Jane Hay River, NT, CanadaWe have Sandhill Cranes here, in Hay River, Northwest Territories, every summer. They wander all over the valley where I live, walking along the road and eating in the fields during the day with the Canada geese. Every night they fly over our house to hang out by the river in front of our house. I never get tired of seeing them. I always thought they went to Texas for the summer, but I could be wrong. Maybe some of them stop over in Martha's Vineyard :) Amazing birds!
I spotted this Sandhill Crane
Marie Vineyard HavenI spotted this Sandhill Crane soaring high in the air over Polly Hill Arboretum early Saturday afternoon. Its unusual call alerted me to look up. Spectacular!
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