Bird talk...

Friday during a conference call, heard a fuss on the back porch, --looked out and saw a hawk clawing the screen to get out. Tried to shoo her to the door- she got sidetracked behind a table area. Me, afraid of big talons and unknown "Hawkish" behavior. Downy feathers swirling. Called my buddy Will, the Bird Man. Came over and carefully approached the bird, clucking, a Coopers' Hawk, caught her. Held her for a bit, then thrust her to freedom. She flew to a branch on the dogwood, looked back a bit, then flew on to the high trees. Quite an experience. Meanwhile the conference call continued on speaker phone, unaware...

Flatlanders and Sandhill Cranes

I'll get to something arty soon, but here are two things that captivated me. As a sequel to my last Chilean post, check out my son Colin's thoughtful blog post, Flatland Reflections on a Chilean Quake. In it, you'll find some interesting bits that we don't hear about here in our own media.

And SPECTACULAR is the only word I can use to describe the experience I had today.

digital camera set on zoom, one tiny bit...

I went outside about 1:45pm and saw thousands and thousands of sandhill cranes flying WAY up high. Two eagles flying below them looked puny and were flying only half as high. Undulating patterns as if liquid, all over the sky, flying west, for about 20 minutes. Lots of squawking, even at that distance. I've never seen this before in my 32 years here. It was unforgettable.

I poked around online and found that the Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska has a "crane cam" that's focused on the birds during arrival and nesting, from March 6 - April 10, 2010. It's dark now as I write, though you can hear the birds. I look forward to checking it out during daylight hours.