Sandhill Cranes

I've heard them in the early morning, where "early" means 10:00.  Wedges of 50-100 fly overhead, circling a few times to get their bearings before winging south again.  They'll be heading for the fields further south:  Valle de Oro, Bernardo or perhaps down to Bosque del Apache.  

I've seen a few on the ground--near Los Poblanos, in an abandoned farm off Montoya, and today finally in our nearby crane-fields north of Veranda.  There the Rio Grande Nature Center manages crops for the benefit of wildlife.  

This year (above) it is decidedly wilder looking than in previous years (below) when we had entire fields of grain planted for them.  The cranes now forage in amongst a variety of dried plants.  At some point, I'll have to get a closer look and ID the mix that they've planted.  

I think the neighborhood around Veranda have stopped feeding them.  Ten years ago, they would be found next to the fence just off the street where people would toss cracked corn or birdseed to attract them.  Now things seem to be aimed at a more natural situation.  

One more detail:  if you look closely at the top photo, you can make out a strip of tilled brown earth in the background.  The folks at the Nature Center are up to something, perhaps a fall planting or just a cleared zone to reveal more seeds on the ground for the cranes.  Again, a walk to the new observation platform off of the Duranes Acequia will give me a close-up view of that part of the field and answer my questions.