Over many years, Oconomowoc Golf Club has been home to a variety of wildlife. Over the last several years, the residential expansion surrounding the golf course has directed an increase in animal populations towards the golf course. Occasionally, I'll tend to focus on the nuisance wildlife (i.e. Deer, geese, muskrats, and Japanese beetle grubs) that I fail to recognize the beauty of other creatures that call OGC home. This morning, I came across our resident Sandhill Crane family. Unfortunately, the young chick is hiding and I was unable to get close enough to take a successful photograph, as the adults were threatening to attack me. Here are a few pictures of the parents as well as some interesting information about Sandhill Cranes.
Description: Sandhill Cranes are tall, long-necked, heavy-bodied birds, measuring about 45 inches from bill tip to tail. Lesser Sandhill Cranes average about 10 percent shorter in height. During summer, adult Sandhill Cranes have rust-colored bodies, wings, and tails subtly shaded with gray; necks are entirely gray. In winter, rust coloration is mostly absent, replaced by pure gray. Variable amounts of reddish-brown may appear in the wings. In all seasons, legs and bills are black, and crown is red. Juvenile Sandhill Cranes have mostly rusty brown upperparts and gray
underparts, with no red cap.
Voice: Sandhill Cranes issue a variety of vocalizations, usually loudly. Most common are loud rattles and rolling trumpet-like calls covering multiple pitches at once.
Cool Fact: Sandhill Crane families (mother, father, and young) typically stay together for nine to ten months, until early in the spring after the young bird's hatching.
Well known for their elaborate courtship dances and graceful flight, Sandhill Cranes are the most common and widespread crane in North America. Their assembly in huge numbers in central Nebraska during spring migration is one of North America's great avian phenomena. The species, which includes multiple distinct populations on the continent, also shows fascinating family dynamics, including unusually durable pair bonds and extended parental care of young.
Sandhill Cranes forage by picking and probing with their long bills both at and below the water's surface, as well as on land. They prefer grain when available, but eat a wide variety of foods. In their northern breeding areas, they consume berries, mammals, and insects.
Nests are generally built above water, attached to emergent vegetation and/or actually floating on the surface. Floating nests have the advantage of remaining intact and accessible even with increases in water level. Some Sandhill Cranes build their nests on dry land; such nests are typically smaller than those built over water. Surrounding vegetation, such as twigs or grass, is used to construct the nest.
Clutches usually include two eggs. Within 24 hours of hatching, Sandhill Crane chicks can walk from the nest; they can also swim. By the second day, siblings are highly aggressive toward each other; indeed, conflicts between siblings may be one important reason that most often, only one young crane per brood survives to fledging.
Notwithstanding this intense sibling rivalry, Sandhill Cranes have close and durable pair bonds and family relationships. Pairs remain bonded and monogamous for periods of multiple years. Mother, father, and young stay together from the time of hatching into the following March, a period of nine to ten months. During this time, first-year birds feed on their own, but depend on their parents' locating food and providing protection from predators and other territorially aggressive Sandhill Cranes.
