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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Florida Sandhill Cranes!

A funny thing happened on the way to Florida.

We stop at rest stops when we drive down to Florida from Michigan...
because folks, it is a looooooong ride!

As we were pulling into one, right beside the freeway off ramp
there was a flock of sandhill cranes eating in the grass on the side of the rest stop road.

Well, I did what I HAD to do.....
I grabbed my camera!!!

So, put your feet up and relax, because I have a TON of photos for you today.

I think they are some of the most gorgeous birds I ever see, and they come to Michigan every spring too!

 Be. Still. My. Heart.






























 Help me Rhonda, help, help me Rhonda!






 I am in L-O-V-E !!








 Well,  HELLO, Lover....







 (oops, sorry...I didn't know he already HAD a girlfriend!)















Preening.  Preening. Always with the preening!:































"I can't believe this lady is standing here so long taking pictures of us!  Gheesh!~":























































"O.K. Lady, you've had enough. We'd like to get back to eating now, 'kay??":


They were most patient with me....
and I was most grateful for it.  Now, I will greet them in the woods when they fly up to the U.P.
I hope they get here soon!

19 comments:

Alan Burnett said...

They are indeed quite beautiful birds - there is something so elegant about the shape of them.

Brian Miller said...

when we lived in FL these birds would be everywhere..love to watch them walking around...dont get them up here...

Hilary said...

You got some great shots.. they're wonderful creatures.

MadSnapper said...

i live in Fl and have never seen a sight like this. i have only seen these birds once, and only 2 that time. these are amazing and the fact you saw them in a rest area.. well i NEVER

Unknown said...

Wow. I don't think I've ever seen these birds before...and you had plenty of them to photograph! They are quite "royal-looking!"

RNSANE said...

Amazing shots! I can't believe there were so many cranes and they allowed you to do so many shots. They must have considered you one of them!

Bossy Betty said...

You are right--they ARE gorgeous!!! Thanks for these wonderful pictures.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Joan, I think I've caught up on all of your blog posts now --but I didn't comment.

It's been crazy around here lately....

Great pictures of the Sandhill Cranes. My son saw them in winter near his home in Galveston, Texas.. He sent me a bunch of pictures --which I blogged about.

Hugs,
Betsy

Grandmother Mary said...

Are you kidding me? Are these real? Wow!

Lillian said...

Your photos are always breathtaking. These birds are so graceful when in flight. Have a great day !

Linda Reeder said...

I've only seen these guys in zoos!

Debbie Lo said...

Very funny captions. LOL The neatest thing is that not only do they have orange tufts on their heads, but orange eyes too! How cool is that?

Red said...

Love the song titles! Super photos of one of my favorite birds.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Oh my! This is most certainly a very special experience.I love all the pictures.

Pat said...

What a coincidence! We are traveling through Nebraska on the Sandhills Scenic Drive. The Sandhill Cranes come here every year and put on 2 lbs on their 12 lb frame before flying on their way! We saw bunches of them in the farmers fields eating the leftover corn. I only got shots of them from our moving vehicle. These are GREAT shots! Thanks for sharing them!

diane b said...

Wow, they are so photogenic. Lovely shots. Bad luck the handsome one was taken.

L. D. said...

Nebraska is another area where they flock through during migration both ways. I suppose they are headed to the western border states. We have blue herons down here that we see regularly along the highway in a very boggy area along Beaver Creek. Maybe I can get some photos but the highway is so busy. Great shots as usual.

ethelmaepotter! said...

These are all superb...all the way down the page through the wood ducks and the hippo and the bird...

I love how the cranes have those bright orange-red eyes and a touch of warmth on their feathers. regal birds, indeed!

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful!!! We just got back from a vacation in Florida and saw some of these wonderful birds by some friend's home. Thank you for posting your beautiful photos.

Ruth from Oregon

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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