My husband and I had been hearing about the Sandhill Cranes in Burrage Pond for several years now.  We’d made two earlier visits to try to see them.  No luck.  Then, Yang decided to try a different entrance from the last two we had tried.  Paydirt!

We left the parking lot and trotted down the trail until we came to a crossroads.  Go straight ahead or take the trail curving to the right?  Fortunately, we were greeted by this guide who pointed us in the correct direction.  We wanted to offer her a tip, but were afraid she might snap our fingers off.  Fortunately, she didn’t chase us down the trail. She wasn’t as big as our friends Gamera or Mrs. Gamera in the Erie Canal, but she had  good enough chompers anyway.

Moving along, we could hear a distinct songbird calling repeatedly overhead in the pines.  Yang had put the Audubon bird identifier on his phone – an excellent investment that I recommend to all.  I proposed we were hearing a Rufous (Eastern) Towhee, and the ap confirmed my conclusion.  So, maybe people don’t need the ap on an expensive phone, they should just hire me (at a much more reasonable rate) to accompany them on bird-watching trips.  Then, again, is there enough of me to go around?  But I digress.

We circled the trees, trying to pinpoint the bird’s location by sound.  Lo and and behold!  A male Towhee was singing his little heart out!  Yang got some nice shots, even though the day was overcast, so it was hard to effectively capture the bird’s colors.  Still. I don’t think we did too bad. The Towhee wasn’t a lifer for us, but he was a first for 2026.

Yang also got some neat shots of the Barn Swallows.  Their iridescent dark turquoise backs are always a lovely delight to behold.  Just try to catch them on digital when they’re flying every which way!  Well, they have to catch their breaths some times!

And now for our Lifer!  The Sandhill Cranes.  We first thought we spotted them way across the marsh.  They were greyish, or more black in silhouette.  But the stance was wrong and we couldn’t pick out the tell-tale red patch on the forehead. Turned out to be Great Blue Herons. Turning around to  go back, we saw some big , cranelike shore birds. Two adults with two fuzzy kids.  But they were brown.  I conjectured they might be Glossy Ibises, but they weren’t terribly glossy, their beaks weren’t long and thinly curved enough, and they were kind of too big.  When we got closer, my binoculars gave me a better look –  I saw that tell-tale red patch!  Yup, here was our Lifer, the Sandhills!

At first, we thought that we had two Mommies, each with her own offspring.  However, Yang did some research and discovered that these crane mates stick together to raise their chicks, often multiple ones. He also noted that these chicks went back and forth between the two parents, clearly connected to both adults. So enjoy these shots of the Sandhill Crane Family.

The day done, we were exhausted from our long walk on an overcast, but still warm day.  We know that if we come back, there will definitely be someone to keep an eyes on us.