Thursday, March 20, 2008

Canny legs...



The weather this morning was atrocious, dull, windy and raining. I was pleased when Trevor rang to tip me off that the Common Cranes had returned to their original spot this morning to feed. I soon got to the roadside stop half a mile west of the QEII Park, Ashington and parked in a marginally more dangerous place than most? Because of this and the weather and the fact that I was on my way to work, my visit was essentially brief, but long enough to get the photo above.

The bird on the left is an immature and compared with the adult it has a more brownish cast to the grey and a poorly marked head pattern. There was a time when Cranes were mega rare in the county but they do seem to have become more regular these days. These two are my fifth record in Northumberland. Previously I've had two at Longhirst Flash, 1 at East Chevington, 1 at Druridge Pools and 1 at Swinhoe and have missed a good few more.

Thanks again to Trevor Blake and Mike Hodgson for keeping me updated...

4 comments:

ST said...

I sneaked off from work early. no joy but the light was failing. hoping the weather keeps them grounded

oldcrow61 said...

Lovely graceful looking birds.

abbey meadows said...

Thanks for the tip. I saw these on Good Friday morning. good views through the scope but too windy to photograph.

Cooper said...

Why do cranes have such long legs?