I took Dennis Z up on his offer to show me the good craning spots when I got back. So at 6am this morning I drove out to Palmer. In the clip you can see, and even better yet hear, the sandhill cranes as they fly. For better pictures go to Dennis' site. (I can't find the cranes, this link takes you to his photos and maybe he'll see this and make it clear how to find the cranes.)
The Singapore Bird Park cost me S$18 admission (about US$13). With gas at $3.71 a gallon at Costco, I figure the trip to Palmer and back means my admission to see the cranes was about US$15! I wonder if folks had a little meter in their car like the odometer that you could set at $.00 when you start a trip and it would calculate how much it cost you in gas money at the end of the trip, people would start changing their driving patterns radically.
Anyway, I haven't driven a car in two and a half months, so my gas cost whatever it cost back in December or January so it was probably a little cheaper.
Note: I intended the title to mean that I got back to Anchorage in time to see the cranes before they moved on. But as I read it now, it reminds me that when you see the Sandhill Cranes you go back in time millions of years with this prehistoric species. For incredible descriptions of these birds, see the section beginnings of Richard Powers' The Echo Maker.
Wow.
ReplyDeleteI'm predicting we'll be hearing our first grebes on the lake the day after tomorrow. They are our ultimate call of the beginning of summer.
I hope you can come out and see and hear them with us.
Nice video Steve,
ReplyDeleteI have yet to post my Sandhill Crane gallery. I want to wait until I shoot my last picture before I post my gallery. Which could be very soon since the numbers are dwindling fast. I'm off again in 15 minutes to get some more pictures. DZ