CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography
Birding in British Columbia, Canada
Sad news from Reifel today that the Sandhill Crane chick (colt) has died. It was found this morning laying on its side alive, but not well, with both adults standing above. Unfortunately it did not survive and they are uncertain as to what may have happened. A couple more shots from the other day.
The Sandhill Crane family was the hot topic for the long weekend visitors at Reifel. The chick is six days old now and wandering the marsh and trails with the adults.
The adults are busy the first few weeks,
… feeding the chick (colt) as much as it can eat.
So far, so good. The chick appears to be doing well.
I received a heads up a couple of days ago about the first hole appearing in the egg on the Sandhill Crane nest. Unfortunately I was not able to head out to Reifel until this morning to help out with the newsletter. As luck would have it the chick had hatched just prior to my arrival. Needless to say when the Marshnotes stuff was done I made my way to the nesting site.
It was not long before the female Sandhill Crane got up and provided us with a look at the new arrival. As the chick will become mobile within a day or two, it won’t be long before the adults accompany it as it swims to shore so they can start feeding it. A temporary trail closure is already in place in anticipation of this to minimize disturbance by visitors.
Bonus shots of the day,
… the Cinnamon Teal were still around the inner ponds.