"Take me to the river . . ."

Cranes!

The Spring Migration of the Sandhill Cranes
Platte River
Nebraska

The largest concentration of cranes in world for just a few weeks.

Imagine tens of thousands of wings overhead and the bugling of the cranes...

Photographs taken at:
The Rowe Sanctuary and Iain Nicholson Audubon Center
on the Platte River, Gibbon, Nebraska.

From blinds on the river at dawn and dusk.

Sunrise from an old railway bridge over the Platte River near Kearney.

Birds in farmer's fields, eating to prepare for their long trip to the Far North.

Paintings in the sky . . .

. . . and portaits on the ground.

Sandhill Cranes

on the Central Flyway

(Click on any image to enlarge.)

Startled, a thousand cranes suddenly take to the air at once.

Left behind, an injured crane, unable to fly, hides in the tall grass.

Watching the cranes reminds me to put some space around the ways I habitually define things, and to fly above my life for perspective.

Birds of Prey
at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek, California

Swainson's Hawk
exercises his wings

Bald Eagle

The Lindsay Wildlife Hospital and Museum, Walnut Creek, California

As a volunteer for the Live Collection of non-releasable birds,

I handled injured hawks and owls, falcons and vultures, on the glove.

I showered the eagle, brought songbirds to an outdoor aviary,

and shared the thrill of being close to these charismatic creatures with the public.

Click on any thumbnail to enlarge.

The eagle calls to me, as an ally.






The barn owl dries his wings after a shower.

Barred Owl

Other friends
at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum


from top to bottom:

Great gray owl
Peregrine falcon
Great horned owl
American kestrel
Long-eared owl

These birds have learned to tolerate humans
but they are not tame.

Turkey vulture, sunning himself

Red-tailed hawk

Swainson's hawk preening

Ferruginous hawk