IN THE FIELDS, PLUS ONE

 

Another sunny day sent Gracie and me back to farm country after dinner.  We were fascinated by what we saw in the fields that evening.

 

 In a field a couple country blocks from where I often see my crane pair, I saw two more Sandhill Cranes.  I was certain they were different from my regular pair because they were much lighter in color.

This pair was younger too because their feathering was very lightweight and unmarked by life’s journeys.

 

 This male was a beauty!  He was very tall in comparison to the female.  His legs were especially long.

 He reminded me of the juvenile male that was in a family with two young ones that I saw in September of 2019, shown in this picture.  That male towered above both his parents!

 

 Both of today's cranes were busy foraging in the field.  No sign of dancing.  I wondered if they were even a breeding pair, which doesn’t happen until they are between two and seven years old.  

 

 We continued our drive and next came upon a couple swans deep foraging in a corn field.  It surprised me because they are mostly waterbirds.

 

 One caught sight of me or, more likely, Gracie hanging out the window.  I didn’t want to disturb their eating so on we drove.

 

 The next field was interesting but elusive.  I saw a flock of birds, which were not familiar to me, fly as a group into a field.  They are barely visible in this shot.

 

 All of a sudden, the whole flock would rise up and fly in one direction, then they’d zag back in the opposition direction, and then they’d zig back and land.  It was amazing to watch, but I wish I knew what the birds were.

 

 One the way home, it was nearly dark.  I was watching the roadside ponds and caught sight of this beautiful Wood Duck.  Couldn’t resist one more shot, even though it wasn’t a field critter.