Just a few weeks ago, my family was blessed with being able to watch a pair of sandhill cranes nest in the lake in our front yard.  It has been such a wonderful experience to watch them up close and observe their behavior.  I frequently checked on them down by the lake so that they would become more comfortable with my presence so that I could photograph the chicks when they hatched.  The lake is not large but it has an area of grasses and plants growing in it that has water underneath it.  This is where the pair built their nest.  Sandhill cranes mate for life and they are dedicated parents.  It was inspiring to watch them as they selflessly endured the harsh midday heat and pouring rain to protect and warm their eggs.  The first three images are of a pair that visited our yard on this past Easter afternoon – so I’m thinking that they were the pair that nested here later on. The pair that nested did visit several times, seeming to be deciding if it was the right spot.  I even observed one of them sit down and “test out” the spot where they would later make their nest.  They eventually did complete the nest, which looks like a small area of dead grasses, and the female began sitting around the third week in April.  She laid two speckled brown eggs which were about the size of a large mango.  The male and female take turns incubating the eggs so that the other one can fly away and go find food.  From what I observed, their shifts seemed to be about three hours during the day before the other one would fly back in and then they would switch places.

 

Towards the beginning of the incubation.

 

One of the sandhills returns from feeding.

 

About a week before the eggs hatched, a small alligator arrived at the pond.  It had what I presume was the male sandhill crane upset.  He would follow it and try to scare it by stretching his wings out as he tried to protect his nest.

 

At last, after 4-5 weeks, the eggs hatched!  When I approached the side of the pond, one chick had already hatched and looked healthy, dry, and fluffy and was hiding under a weed near the edge of the nest.  Soon, the crane on the nest rose and underneath it was the second chick still wet from hatching.  The chicks, called colts, are born with their eyes open and they fully able to function very quickly.  We also found it interesting that both parents stayed at the lake that day.  They must have known that it was coming!

 

Later that evening.  The chicks were lively and even would squabble with each other but the second-born seemed like there was something wrong with it – maybe with its legs.

 

The next morning, one of the parents led the first chick out of the pond and onto the bank where it searched for food like insects and grubs which it fed to the chick.  The other chick had trouble getting around and finally made it onto the bank but it looked weak. We were hoping that it would grow stronger with food but it either died or was caught sometime during the next few days.  We were so sad about it but realize that is what happens in this world until God will someday make it perfect again.

 

The grasses are like a forest to the little two-day-old colt!

After staying for a few more days, the family of three left the property and we haven’t seen them since then.  But I hope that they are doing well and that we’ll see them again soon!  It was such a blessing to be able to witness this experience.  The parents dedication and the miracle of it all reminds me that life is not a mistake.  Why do animals risk their own lives to raise their next generation if life is by chance and nothing really matters?  Survival of the fittest is about battling for survival, not sacrifice.  But no, it is because God created them and told them to “be fruitful and multiply.”  They are just obeying Him.

One more thought.  Please be careful when your driving in the areas where these birds that are protected in FL live. The adults can blend into the asphalt on roads and don’t always have much of a fear of cars.  They are a target for getting hit and just recently a chick got hit on a road near us.  So please be aware and drive carefully!  :)