They get moving, onto the real grass, where breakfast awaits:
They cross the yard lines that mean nothing to them... or perhaps the lines do mean something to them. As I said, I am not privy to the thoughts of cranes. Nor was Meade, who took these photos and who, somehow, inspired the young crane to come over, just for a moment:
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Artificial turf likely means less bus and other critters. Maybe that's a win for them.
And thanks for the morning cranes!
Less bugs. Though maybe less bus too.
3rd video:
Well you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm an egret man
No time to squawk
Ground is green and the sun is warm
Never moved real quick
Since I was a chick
Nice! Thank you.
These aren't young cranes. They don't get the red patches on their heads until they're adults.
I'm pretty sure the color patch and "adulthood" happens during their first winter, before their first northward migration. So they're adults before they're 1 year old. This is the case for most birds, particularly migrants to temperate areas where the death toll from poorly-timed spring storms can be devastating to a population. Among common species in the northern US, I know that eagles and gulls don't fit this pattern: eagles take 4-5 years to reach maturity and gulls 2-4 (depending on the species).
Venturing a guess, it's the overnight warmth. Astroturf is laid on an asphalt base, which holds heat quite well. It warms up considerably through the day and cools off slowly during the night. Some birds (and some mammals) are bradymetabolic, i.e. though warm-blooded the metabolism varies into resting and active phases. Hummingbirds, ostriches, and kiwis are examples of bradymetabolic homeotherms. Perhaps cranes are similar. Finding a warm place to kip might help them get started early.
"If you want to be a Badger, just come along with me…"
Nice necks. The Creator is quite an artist.
Future headline: Little Ol’ Lady Got Mulilated Late Last Night - Sandhills of Madison Again
I dearly love the phrase, "they're moved to preen."
Interesting how their color changes, I guess based on their angles with the camera and the pinkifying early morning sun. They could be flamingos in some frames.
"Interesting how their color changes..."
Many bird colors are not pigments within the structure of the feathers, but prismatic effects caused by the crystalline structure of the outer keratin cortex which is itself colorless and transparent.
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