I birded some of western Waukesha County this morning for something different. The highlight of the morning was 2 adult Sandhill Cranes feeding a cute colt. This was a young colt and it stayed close to both adults. They both probed the ground and gave the colt things to eat, sometimes passing something or dropping it in front of the colt to eat it on its own. Pretty exciting to watch this from a distance. It rained briefly while I was there but cranes just went about their business feeding and feeding the colt. Images were taken on June 12, 2019.
Sandhill Crane adult with the colt…
The Sandhill Crane colt…with rain falling…
Passing a grub to the colt…with a drizzle…
Colt eating the grub…
The colt pulling the worm out of the ground, the adult partially pulled it out…
Colt with the worm, the adult watches…
Dealing with the worm…
I’m going to get this down…the adult just watches
Almost down…
An adult briefly looks around…it is still drizzling…
The adult drops a grub in front of the colt and the colt picks it up…
The colt then eats the grub…
The adult pulls a grub out of the ground…
The pass…
The adult walks around in search of food, the colt just watches, it is an on going lesson how to get things to eat…
Another grub is passed on to the colt…
Time to get it down…
Another pass…
And another grub…
Watching the adult, could be the female…
Could that colt get any cuter! Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful pictures!
Wow! Wonderful photos, Jim.
What great photos…and text. Super job, Jim!
Wow that a fantastic find….been looking all year… only see in them in the way distance…. you are sooo fortunate to have seen such an intimate moment and catch some amazing photos. WOW
by the way i was at greenfield today with Happy 🙂
Love the detailed documentation of the process, and the very cute little one! Amazing photos! Thank you, Jim
Jim, wonderful images and love your photography. Wish you were on Instagram, you would make so many folks happy with your work.
Great series of photos. Really enjoyed.
Fantastic Pictures! 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
I’ve seen many Sandhill Cranes with colts, but never had the opportunity to see how they teach their young to find food. The sequence with the worm is particularly interesting since the parent did only part of the work and knew the colt would learn best by doing it on its own. This is another great series of bird photos that you have created, Jim. Thank you.
Jim,
You know that your photos always leave me speechless and these photos are precious on top of that. Thank you for the long hours you spend in the field in all kinds of weather and for sharing these precious photos with us.
incredible shots Jim, AGAIN and AGAIN!!!
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