More Cranes

Two summers ago I was fortunate enough to have about fifty sandhills come to the cornfield across the road from my house and they stayed until migration. It was a wonderful experience to watch these magnificent birds on a daily basis. I noticed that one bird was sentinel and stood to back and watched over the flock and never once lowered his head while the others played, napped, and grazed. When slightly concerned he would signal the others and they flocked together and moved to the treeline. They were very jittery and I couldn't get any closer than the weeds by the roadside.