Nesting Sandhill Crane at Pitchstone Waters
Here is a nesting Sandhill Crane at Pitchstone Waters. Tens of thousands of these birds winter on the Llano Estacado and parts of the Trans-Pecos, each year. The cranes have been making this annual journey for hundreds of thousands of years.
The cranes travel at great elevations – of up to 12,000 feet – in V formations. They can cover 500 miles a day.
From a good friend, a Texas wildlife manager:
Muleshoe Wildlife Refuge in the Texas Panhandle has tens of thousands in the fall. They winter on the Gulf Coast too and come over La Grange area many times in giant rotating swirls riding air currents. Cool birds!