A Sad Story About the Sandhill Cranes
This is a Two Tissue Tale
They pass my patio in groups when the golfers are not there. Two of Sandhill Cranes have gotten to know my cat Beauty. They actually look for her and stand outside the screened porch waiting for her to appear.
Beauty sits in the corner of the screened in patio in a red canvas chair. The chair is a foot away from the screen that separates the Sandhill birds from the cat.
They have become friends. I smile when I think of it. I never thought that a Sandhill Crane and a black cat could become friends. When my cat Black beauty is not sitting in her red chair on the patio, the pair of Sandhill Cranes wait for her to appear.
Now for the sad story.
Tears fill my eyes when I think about it. I only heard about it a few days ago when my daughter and I were driving to the store to do some Christmas shopping.
Traffic had come to a halt. The cars were backed up behind and in front of us. I looked out the window and watched three Sandhill Cranes, walking in single file, slowly cross the street. Birds never rush. All of the drivers had stopped and were waiting for the Sandhill Cranes to get to the other side.
I wondered why there were only three? I was told that they travel in pairs, My daughter told me that one day a Crane was killed by a driver who did not stop to let the pair of Cranes cross the street. I figured maybe it was dark and the driver did not see. I was told that Sandhill Cranes do not come out at night.
I felt sad as my daughter further explained that since Sandhill Cranes mate for life, the remaining Crane must now travel alone. This is why there were only three crossing the street instead of the usual four.
I started to weep when I thought of this poor Sandhill Crane spending the rest of its life walking alone with the pack of Sandhill Cranes consisting of pairs. The bird has no one to talk to, travel or mate with during the mating season.
A Lesson to Learn
I saw the three a little while ago. The single Sandhill Crane was trailing behind the other two. It was such a sad sight, I felt compelled to write this article so drivers will always make sure to bring their car to a complete halt when large birds or small animals are crossing the street.
Source: My own observations and knowledge
Published by Sondra C
Brooklyn born Sondra Crane is a youthful looking and acting senior. She began writing as a child and never stopped. Her blog, "Along Life's Path" includes life as it was then and a glimpse into her thoughts... View profile
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32 Comments
Post a CommentThat is sad. I once saw a goose with a bad wing. It couldn't fly, so the flock left without him. Sometimes nature seems so cruel and I hate to see it.
I appreciate your response to the lose one of a pair of cranes.I too feel strongly about the disrespect for other species. I must say I was very offended by the "hunters" posted right next to your article! Very rude and crude placement!
Sad, we noticed the same on the golf course, we found a family of four and then they were three, that seems like a more likely occurrence than the gators getting one that got too close :) Sheri
Very sad indeed. Thanks for telling us about this.
This is a sad story and I can relate because I've been single for 30 years in a world full of couple. And some of those couples are none too kind to us singles. I hope that driver is ashamed of him/her self.
Well written as always
How sad- that poor crane. How kind of the pair to let him tag along, so he is not entirely alone. I hit a pair of mourning doves once- well, one got away, the other got stuck in my headlight. And the poor other one was sitting above on a power line watching as I bawled and extracted the poor bird from my car. They came out of nowhere...so sad....
We have a Sand Hill Crane crying and crying alone across our lake at his/her reflection in a sliding glass door. It's been doing it for 3 days. Starts at 7am. I feel for whomever lives in that house since it is so loud, but it is really sad. We have only one mating pair on our lake, one must have been killed somehow.
This is very interesting!
Seen this in Geese.