Sandhill Cranes

A Kensington Metropark Adventure

Oakland County, MI Government Leave a comment

Until last week more than a year had gone by since my last hiking adventure at 4,481-acre Kensington Metropark. Kensington is one of 13 Metroparks in Livingston, Macomb, Washtenaw, Wayne and Oakland counties managed by Huron-Clinton Metroparks, our regional park agency. Those parks cover almost 25,000 acres of land and according to the Metroparks website, they serve over 7.3 million visitors a year. As for the name Huron-Clinton, that’s because our Metroparks are along the Huron and Clinton Rivers.

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Season of the Sandhills

Oakland County, MI Government Leave a comment
Sandhill Cranes flying over water.

“High horns, low horns, silence and finally a pandemonium of trumpets, rattles, croaks and cries that almost shake the bog with its nearness, but without yet disclosing whence it comes. At last, a glint of sun reveals the approach of a great echelon of approaching birds. On motionless wing they emerge from the lifting mists, sweep a final arc of sky, and settle in clangorous descending spirals to their feeding grounds. A new day has begun on the crane marsh.”  –  A Sand County Almanac

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Season of the Sandhills

Oakland County, MI Government 6 Comments
Sandhill Crane

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

Sandhill Cranes are dancing and singing their courtship songs all across Oakland County. Their leaping, wing-flapping dance moves are one of the finest and perhaps most astonishing shows of nature for those that are lucky enough to witness their exuberance for life. The spectacular performance takes one’s breath away. An early morning solo hike near the entrance of Rose Oaks County Park presented me with an opportunity to watch that ritual from a crouched position among dry cattails with Red-Winged Blackbirds as my companions.

Sandhill Crane

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Sights, Sounds, Scents and Signs of Spring’s Approach

Oakland County, MI Government 4 Comments

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

The confirmation of spring’s approach arrived on very long legs and boasted a bright red-capped head. It was just before sunrise when I spotted three statuesque Sandhill Cranes standing motionless on ice near a parking lot at Addison Oaks County Park. After a hilly, two-hour hike in a mostly snow-covered landscape, I returned to that melting patch of ice just in time to watch one of those red-crested, long-legged beauties of the wetlands stretching its wings in the morning sun. That sighting alone confirmed what the calendar already said: The final countdown to spring is well underway. Continue reading →