THE LONG WAIT IS OVER

The conditions are nearly perfect.

 There are still a few golden fields of hay yet to be cut.

But most of the hay has been harvested by now and is ready to be baled.

The cornfields appear to be mature too and also ready for cutting.  Fields left with cut hay and dregs of corn stalks will bring in what I’ve been waiting for all summer.

CRANES!  I spotted these first cranes of the summer in this meadow next to a cornfield.  Because the two cranes on the ends were in sentinel pose, I figured the two in the middle were juveniles.

 As I got a closer look, I could tell the two middle birds were definitely juveniles because both lacked the red caps common to adults.  Their eyes were also black versus the red color of adults.  Generally, cranes lay two buff or olive eggs in a ground nest built near water.  I’d seen juveniles many times before, but I’d never seen two juveniles survive and be with both parents.

The whole time I was taking pictures, the adult crane on the left kept watch.  It hardly moved a muscle and appeared rooted in its spot, even when Gracie hung out the window to see what was there.

After a while, the adult on the right joined the two juveniles in foraging for food.  They probe with their bills for grains, seeds, and insects.

Then, surprisingly, while the adult continued to peck in the ground, one of the juveniles took over the watch duty, or so it seemed.  I wondered whether the two adults were the ones I saw early last spring doing a pair-bonding dance.  There is no way to know that for sure, but it’s wonderful to have some cranes back in the area to photograph and enjoy.