Sandhill Crane

Adam Cheeseman · #1 (**permalink**) 29-09-2009, 01:43 PM

Hi Folks,

Keep an eye out for, and check, any Cranes you might come across. The Sandhill Crane that has spent the past fortnight on Orkney is now heading South and is currently heading south in the Highland region of Scotland. Hopefully it will carry on with its pseudo migration south through Britain. Preferably finding a nice field in Surrey to pitch up in for a few days.

Cheers,

Adam

Adam Cheeseman · #2 (**permalink**) 29-09-2009, 06:36 PM

Heading generally SSW. Can be expected to travel 200-300 miles in a day.

Chris Hawes · #3 (**permalink**) 29-09-2009, 06:43 PM

And this is what they look like (although this photo was taken in the US)...

scrawled · #4 (**permalink**) 09-10-2009, 06:01 PM

Hi

I'm by no means very knowledgeable about wildlife, but I found this board/thread after searching for details of a striking bird I saw on the Lagan Towpath in Belfast, Northern Ireland this morning about 10:30am. I also passed it in the same point on the river when cycling back from Shaws Bridge - so the bird seemed to be sitting in the one place for at least 20 minutes. It seemed very relaxed and kept stretching its jaw and moving its head about.

The bird was standing on a branch sticking out of the water and I was struck by its size and imposing presence in the middle of the river. I definitely think it was a Sandhill Crane - the only difference being from most pictures on the web being that it was a darker grey than most pictures I have seen, but the size, physique and red feathers around the face are what stood out to me.

Hoping this helps in some way - I'm pretty sure it was a Sandhill Crane...

Picidae · #5 (**permalink**) 09-10-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrawled

Hi

The bird was standing on a branch sticking out of the water and I was struck by its size and imposing presence in the middle of the river.

Hi Scrawled

Sounds like you probably saw a Grey Heron. (perhaps with stained/bloodied feathers on it's face? or sun just shining on bill?)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2583/...4c4d20487d.jpg

http://www.janetwrightphotography.co...G009Heron2.jpg

http://www.washingtond.net/BirdsHero...s/image070.jpg

Cranes are more likely to be seen feeding in fields - Sandhill Crane is even less likely a possibility!

scrawled · #6 (**permalink**) 10-10-2009, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Picidae

Hi Scrawled

Sounds like you probably saw a Grey Heron. (perhaps with stained/bloodied feathers on it's face? or sun just shining on bill?)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2583/...4c4d20487d.jpg

http://www.janetwrightphotography.co...G009Heron2.jpg

http://www.washingtond.net/BirdsHero...s/image070.jpg

Cranes are more likely to be seen feeding in fields - Sandhill Crane is even less likely a possibility!

Hi - thanks for the reply.

I'm pretty confident it wasn't a Heron, simply because I'm already familiar with them, more so from the rural Co.Down area I lived in as a child. In fact my first thought was "that looks like a Heron but the colours are completely wrong". The one thing I have to stress is that this bird was quite close each time I saw it (about 10m away approx.) in clear lighting conditions from different positions 20 mins apart., and that the feathers were definitely a very dark grey, with lighter grey round the neck...no hint of white was apparent. The red certainly appeared to be feathers and was very vibrant and striking.

The feathers were certainly darker than most of the photos I've seen of Sandhill Cranes - but it's still the closest match I've seen yet.
It really looked like this illustration - closest match I've found:

http://www.scientificillustrator.com...ill-cranes.jpg

But I accept I'm no wildlife expert so I'm not discounting any possibilities and appreciate the feedback from others with more knowledge. The only other thing I can suggest is maybe it was a heron covered with some substance that considerably darkened it's feathers...but what stood out as unusual was the darkness of the bird, and the bright red around the face.

Picidae · #7 (**permalink**) 10-10-2009, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrawled

I'm not discounting any possibilities

Neither am I scrawled! If you're pretty sure that is what it was then I'd contact Rare Birds Ireland

here: Birds Ireland > Rare bird news

and give exact location (if you can) of where you saw it but say it was a 'possible' not a 'certainty' and try and get some others looking - they're pretty hard birds to miss and if one has turned up in the UK recently who knows ...