Wild Life In Our Yard

We were eating breakfast one morning when these folks walked across the back yard.  Then we realized the "vociferous trumpeting" each morning on our walk was coming from these three.

Two Males and a female

Their knees bend opposite from ours so their gate is interesting.

Dad is ecstatic about these birds.  He is a lover of all things nature and since the alligators have turned out to be a myth (according to him, because he hasn't seen one in "nature" yet) he is on the look out for other interesting wild life.  These certainly fill the bill.

 I have included a few interesting facts about Sand Hill Cranes, from the Florida Wild Life web site and also a link to a more interesting site (just a 1 pager) that the kids may like to read.

Sand hill cranes are cherished members of the Florida ecosystem. They stand almost 4 feet tall and their bugling or rattling calls are haunting and beautiful. Sand hill cranes occur in pastures, open prairies and freshwater wetlands in peninsular Florida from the Everglades to the Okefenokee Swamp.

Florida sandhill cranes are present in many urban areas and some unlikely places such as golf courses, airports and suburban subdivisions. This is probably due in part to the rapid development of their native habitat by humans. Cranes are probably attracted by the open setting (mowed grass) and availability of some foods (acorns, earthworms, mole crickets, turf grubs).

A great site is  http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/interactive/springscoast/sandhillcranes.shtml

By the way we love the comments from you folks, it sort of lets us know we didn't fall of the face of the earth out here.  Thanks for reading and commenting.