... and Caty increased her life count from two to thousands ... |
We found large flocks almost immediately
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Located in the San Luis Valley south of the town of Monte Vista, the Refuge was established in 1953 by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission to provide a habitat for wildlife, particularly waterfowl, in the San Luis Valley.
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| Sandhills aren't the only birds Monte Vista protects; these are Cinnamon Teals |
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| Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge |
Historically an agricultural area, water is intensively managed on the Refuge, especially in comparison to the nearby Alamosa NWR. Irrigation includes numerous dikes and other water control structures that provide water to diverse wetland habitats ranging from shallow wet meadows to open water.
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| Water is what attracts the birds |
The Refuge includes Artesian wells, pumped wells and irrigation canals, some dating to the "ditch boom" of the 1880s.
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| Sandhill Range: Cornell |
There are 15 species of Cranes in the world.
Two species live in North America: the Sandhill Crane and the Whooping Crane.
In addition to North America, Sandhill Cranes also live in extreme northeastern Siberia and sometimes stray to Europe.
Monte Vista's Cranes winter in and near Bosque del Apache and breed in the northern U.S. and southern Canada.
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| Monte Vista's Cranes winter in New Mexico and breed farther north |
Up to 20,000 pass through the Refuge in the spring and again in the fall.
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| Flying Sandhill Cranes |
There are six Sandhill subspecies, including the migratory Canadian, Lesser and Greater and the non-migratory Cuban, Florida and Mississippi. Some authorities no longer recognize Canadian as a distinct subspecies from the Greater Sandhill Crane.
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Monte Vista's Cranes are primarily Greater Sandhill Cranes
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I just recently discovered there are subspecies, so I am not certain what type I have been photographing, although I believe most of the Monte Vista Sandhills are Greater. Interestingly, most of the Bosque del Apache birds are Lesser Sandhill Cranes. I guess they split up when they travel north.
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Based on the red pattern on the head, I believe the second from the left is a Lesser
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The common name comes from their preferred habitat on the edge of northern Nebraska's Sandhills, which is the most important stopover area for the Lesser Sandhill, with up to 450,000 migrating through each year. I plan to visit the Nebraska migration soon -- maybe next year.
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| This is just a fraction of the Monte Vista Cranes |
Sandhill Cranes have red foreheads, white cheeks and long, dark, pointed bills.
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| Sandhill Cranes |
In flight, their long, dark legs trail behind, and their long necks keep straight.
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The necks and feet are straight when Sandhill Cranes fly
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Adults are gray overall; during breeding, their plumage is usually worn and stained, particularly in the migratory populations, and looks nearly ochre. Immature birds have reddish-brown upperparts and gray underparts.
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This one has pristine light coloration
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Males weigh about 10 lbs., with females about a pound lighter. They stand 2.5 to 4.5 feet tall and their wingspan ranges from 5.5 to 7.5 feet.
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| The wingspan is impressive |
Sandhill Cranes frequently give a loud, trumpeting call that suggests a rolled "r" in the throat, and they can be heard from a long distance. Mated pairs of Cranes engage in "unison calling." The Cranes stand close together, calling in a synchronized and complex duet. The female makes two calls for every one from the male. You can hear them here.
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| They call as they fly |
Sandhill Cranes are highly skilled soaring birds. Using thermals to obtain lift, they can stay aloft for many hours, requiring only occasional flapping of their wings, thus expending little energy.
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| Soaring Cranes |
Migratory flocks contain hundreds of birds.
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| Flying flock |
Fairly social, Sandhills usually live in pairs or family groups through the year. During migration and winter, unrelated Cranes come together to form "survival groups" that forage and roost together. Such groups often congregate at migration and winter sites, sometimes in the thousands. The groups are active and noisy, as you can see here.
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| Coming in for a landing |
Sandhill Cranes are mainly herbivorous, but eat various types of food, depending on availability. They often feed with their bills down to the ground as they root around for seeds and other foods, in shallow wetlands with vegetation or various upland habitats.
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| Feeding in a plowed field |
Cranes readily eat cultivated foods such as corn, wheat, cottonseed and sorghum. A Monte Vista, farmers have planted barley, which they mow to feed the migrating Sandhills, thus replacing natural food that were displaced by farming. The Refuge has areas marked off near these feeding grounds where you can watch without getting too close.
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| Activity in the feeding ground |
As a conspicuous ground-dwelling species, Sandhill Cranes are at risk from predators, which are probably the main nonhuman source of mortality. Mammals such as Foxes, Raccoons and Coyotes hunt young Sandhills. In Bosque del Apache, I saw Coyotes patrolling the pond that the Sandhills spent the night in.
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Coyote patrolling in Bosque del Apache
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| GHO at Monte Vista |
Wolves, Cougars, Bobcats and Lynx hunt adults. Ravens, Crows, Gulls and smaller raptors such as Northern Harriers and Red-tailed Hawks feed on young Cranes and eggs. Cranes of all ages are hunted by Bald and Golden Eagles and Great Horned Owls.
Sandhill Cranes defend themselves and their young from aerial predators by jumping and kicking.
Brooding adults are more likely to react aggressively to potential predators to defend their chicks than wintering birds, which most often normally try to evade attacks on foot or in flight.
For land predators, they move forward, often hissing, with their wings open and bills pointed. If the predator persists, the Crane stabs with its bill (which is powerful enough to pierce the skull of a small carnivore) and kicks.
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| Those long legs can be dangerous |
In the 1930s, Sandhill Cranes were generally extirpated east of the Mississippi River but their populations have recovered with there being an estimated 98,000 in the region in 2018. Although Sandhill Cranes are not considered threatened as a species, the three southernmost subspecies are quite rare.
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| The numbers are increasing |
Many subpopulations were destroyed by hunting or habitat change.
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| Flying Sandhill Cranes |
The Greater Sandhill Crane initially suffered most.
By 1940, probably fewer than 1,000 were left. Populations have since increased greatly to nearly 100,000.
Still, they are fewer than the Lesser Sandhill Crane, which, at almost 400,000 in North America, is the most plentiful Crane today.
Some migratory populations of Sandhill Cranes face population threats due to interspecies competition with snow geese. Since the 1990s, Snow Geese have eaten waste corn on which the Cranes also rely prior to migration.
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| At Monte Vista there are no Snow Geese to compete with |
Sandhill Crane populations are also threatened by hunting. Hunting Cranes is legal throughout the states of the Central Flyway, from the Dakotas and Wyoming south to Oklahoma and Texas. Nebraska is the sole state along the Central Flyway where hunting Cranes is illegal.
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| Maybe they come for the scenery |
Despite losses from hunting, competition with other species and habitat loss, the Sandhill Crane has expanded its range northward since the early 2000s, including into upstate New York.Sandhill Cranes have been used as foster parents for Whooping Crane reintroduction. But, after imprinting on their foster parents, the chicks didn't know they weren't Sandhills and they wouldn't breed with their own species.
Sandhills have one of the longest fossil histories of any extant bird. Although some claim that a 10-million-year-old fossil from Nebraska is from a Sandhill, it is probably from a prehistoric relative.
The oldest unequivocal Sandhill Crane fossil is 2.5 million years old, older by half than the earliest remains of most living species of birds.
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| An ancient bird still making an impact today |
When in Monte Vista, we learned that Sandhills have an established daily schedule. They feed in the mornings ...
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| Group feeding |
... then lift off in large groups and fly to other fields to "loaf" -- basically hanging out, interacting and nibbling here and there ... |
| "Loafing" is the term Monte Vista uses in its brochure |
... then, they lift off en mass ...
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| Changing location |
... and return to the feeding grounds, eating until around dusk ...
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Late afternoon feeding
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... when they fly to ponds where they gather in tight protective groups to sleep ...
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| Sleeping in a pond protects them from predators |
... around dawn, they wake up and fly off to feeding grounds ...
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| Early morning lift-off |
It is nice to know this because then you can figure out where to go to photograph them. Or video tape them.
So, we spent our time, moving from place to place, hoping to get some nice flying shots ...
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| We had lots of opportunities to photography them flying |
... amusing landing shots ...
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| They land by dropping their legs and floating down |
Early morning shots ...
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| Great golden light from the rising sun |
Sunset shots ...
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| Plus lovely evening skies |
... and, maybe some interactions with each other ...
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Dancing Crane
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Of course, we had to get up very early ...
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| I took this during our morning "stake-out" |
... to get those morning shots ...
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| Leaving the pond as the sun rises |
Throughout Monte Vista, there are also many Great Horned Owls. We found two nests, that we did photograph ...
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| Great Horned Owl |
Plus, we saw a couple flying near dusk when it was too dark to photograph. And, sadly, we saw a dead one near one of Monte's Vista's many parking areas.
Owls and Cranes aren't the only birds at Monte Vista, although at this time of year, there weren't many varieties. Among several types of raptors, we had a nice encounter with an American Kestrel ...
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| Female Kestrel |
We did see lots of American Coots, including one skittering across the ice ...
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| Those big feet are great for running on the ice |
And sliding into the icy lake ...
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| Not so graceful, however |
Of course, there were also lots of Canada Geese ...
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| Canada Geese |
But, it's the Sandhills we went for and that paid off.
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| Magnificent birds |
When we visited, we stayed at the Best Western Movie Manor, a motel built on a drive-in movie lot. The rooms all face the screens and there is an audio player in the room. I have stayed there before, but no movies were playing. This time, there was one, but the screen is pretty far and hard to see and the audio isn't very loud. No big deal for me, but don't go for the movies. I like the hotel because it is close to the Refuge (and nothing else).
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| Photo: Best Western |
We also explored the Rio Grande Wildlife Refuge, much of which is closed this time of year to protect Sandhills that overnight there.
And, then, on our way home, we made three stops.
First, we drove through Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, where we didn't see many birds. But, we did have a brief encounter with a North American Porcupine. Well worth the drive!
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| A cute little Porcupine |
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| Great Sand Dunes |
... for a few photos ...
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| Great Sand Dunes |
And, then on the way home, we had a lovely picnic at Lathrop State Park, with a spectacular view if the Spanish Peaks.
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| The Spanish Peaks from Lathrop State Park |
Trip date: March 8-9, 2021
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