Rather than my traditional stomping grounds in Florida, I wintered over in Indiana this year. Thankfully, it was a mild winter, considering I live in an RV. Other than some minor issues with frozen water lines in the belly of the RV, I stayed very comfortable inside my home on wheels.

Not far from where I have my RV parked is Brookville Lake, also in Indiana. Built in the 1970s for flood control, the lake has become a popular staging area for a large population of roughly 2000 Sandhill Cranes. A tall, leggy, chatty bird that has been flying around North America for at least two million years.

 

During winter months, the water level at Brookville Lake is lowered, turning the northern section of the lake into mudflats. The Sandhill Cranes migrating between Florida and their northern nesting grounds over the past 45 years have discovered the Brookville Lake mudflats and turned them into a migration staging ground. And in milder winters, their wintering grounds.

 

My passion for photographing Sandhill Cranes goes back 20-some years, to when I was living in Rockford, Illinois. While raking leaves one fall, I heard what I initially thought was a flock of Canadian Geese. Only the traditional goose honk had somewhat of a rattling, bugle sound mixed with it. Eventually, the flock came into view. Only a thousand feet up, it was obvious by size and shape that these were some kind of crane, and well over a hundred of them.

Then something bazaar happened. Directly over my house, the cranes started circling. I initially thought they were confused until I realized they were in thermal currents and ascending. I've never seen a flock of birds that large ride a thermal. With what little information I had, it was off to my computer for a little research. It didn't take long to figure out they were Sandhill Cranes.

It was also during my research that I discovered Sandhill Cranes often hang out and even nest at the nearby Nygren Wetland in Rockton, Illinois. A place where I would end up spending ten years photographing not only Sandhill Cranes, but also White Pelicans, Bald Eagles, many songbirds, Painted Turtles, skunks, and frogs. It was at Nygren Wetland that I developed a deep appreciation for the Sandhill Crane.

 

I can literally watch and listen to Sandhill Cranes for hours on end. They are very social birds, communicating with their rattling-like calls, and by dancing, wings spread wide and hopping into the air. Their dancing, primarily a mating ritual, is also used socially.

 

At Brookville Lake, I like spending late afternoons photographing the Sandhill Cranes. Mid-afternoon, I typically find them resting, basking in the sun when available, and very quiet. Late afternoon, they start moving around a little more, calling out to others, and socializing by dancing. You'll also find them driving their sharp beaks deep into the mud searching for tasty invertebrates to snack on.

 

With the sun just above the horizon, the Sandhills get restless. Most take flight in small family and social groups, heading out to the fields around Dunlapsville, Indiana to eat some grain and anything else tasty they find. Not long after sunset, the cranes leave the fields and return to the safety of the mudflats en masse.

 

Occasionally, I will see and hear a lone Sandhill Crane, circling high above the mudflats, for whatever reason, separated from its mate or family, calling out frantically in hopes of hearing a friendly voice amongst many. It's a haunting, sad call. I've only encountered the call twice. Both times, a happy ending with the Sandhill hearing the correct return call and gliding in for a near vertical landing next to its companions.