Spring is on the way

Visit the YouTube player on my sidebar to learn more & hear the sounds of Sandhill Cranes. The one titled "Nature Photography: Sandhill Cranes" is narrated by the photographer. I do not know her name, but the sounds of these birds is very distinctive. It's a great watch. (Be sure to pause my Playlist so it won't interfere with the Nature clip.)

It is official that spring is coming to Texas. Most people check to see what Phil, the ground hog, is doing to determine if we'll have more cold weather. Here in central Texas when I hear a tremendous amount of racket w-a-a-a-a-y up in the sky I know the Sandhill Cranes have begun their migration from the Texas coast back to their staging area on the Platt River in Nebraska prior to returning to their breeding grounds in northern Canada.
Normally this happens around or just after the end of February, but today 2/3/09 several flocks came up the Colorado River and turned northward flying over the golf course and my house headed for their breeding grounds. This must mean we are in store for an early spring here.
My husband & I attend the "In Celebration of the Whooping Crane and Other Birds" festival in Port Aransas, TX the end of February. There we always see some Sandhill Cranes and soon after we return home we hear them migrating overhead. I guess there will be few to be seen this year when festival time rolls around.

Photograph of Sandhill Cranes was taken by me at the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge on the Pecos River just outside Roswell, New Mexico. Visit the International Crane Foundation site on the Web for more information on Sandhill Cranes.

PS - In thinking about the migrating Sandhills, I want to add that when migrating one can barely see them in the sky. They fly so very high, catch the thermals and zoom away. The only way to know they are overhead is to hear the incessant noise they make. It is exciting to hear them coming and then search for them in the sky.