Eclectic Red Barn: Wild life in my driveway?

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Wild life in my driveway?

We are up at our house in Eustis, FL and when I opened the door to go into the garage, I was surprised to see these Sandhill cranes outside the door. We see them often as we are driving, but never in our yard.

Eclectic Red Barn: Sandhill cranes as seen through the garage

This picture is taken from inside my garage. I thought there was just three of them, but when I went out the front door, and around, I saw five of them.

Eclectic Red Barn: Sandhill cranes in the yard

Two of them were walking down the driveway. These are all adults. You can tell by the dark grey color and the red on their heads. Both males and females look alike. They can range in height from 2 ft 7 in to 4 ft. These cranes frequently give a loud trumpeting call that suggests a French-style "r" rolled in the throat, and they can be heard from a long distance.