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Sandhill cranes are going north over Columbia County - Florida

AdamsQuailHunter
Today it is a bluebird sky - no clouds anywhere - slight breeze from the south.  There has been four flights of sandhills going over today.  One large with well over 100 birds - three smaller ones with 25-35 birds.  I don't know how far north in Georgia they will get - as I understand it is snowing in some places.

Best - AQH
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Comments

11 comments

Date Votes
  • NeoBlackdog
    Beautiful birds!  Glad you looked up at the right time.
    Nice to see you posting, AH!
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  • JimmyJack
    They are good eating,  and should get here in a month or two.
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  • Smitty500mag
    JimmyJack said:
    They are good eating,  and should get here in a month or two.
    With a side of fries...yum! 
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  • danielgage
    prime-rib of the sky I hear
    but I have not tried them
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  • Wild Turkey
    Two dozen went overhead central KY early this week.  We are on their flyway.
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  • AdamsQuailHunter
    First - "Neo" - I am glad that you can post - your "The Flu" post says you have it.  Second - even though the sandhills ride thermals until you can only see the white wing flashes as the sun strikes them - there is no difficulty hearing them - so you know when to look up.  I have no idea how their sound carries so far.  Lastly - in Florida - they are not "game birds" - so no hunting them.
    Best- AQH
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  • BobJudy
    They sure have a distinctive call and can't be confused with any thing else. I also have heard that they taste like fine beef but I never had the chance to try any. The only way to hunt them in Michigan is with a crop deprivation permit. When shot they must be left in the fields for the coyotes. Pretty stupid ain't it? I was told by some friends in the western states where they do have a season to never use a dog for retrieval. If the bird isn't dead that long pointy beak can skewer them pretty bad and even kill the dog. We have a large seasonal population here but won't see any for at least 2 months. Bob
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  • SCOUT5
    We see more cranes here now that we used to.  The first time a bunch went over me here they were to high for me to identify.  I told my buddy I thought they were cranes and he thought I was crazy, he said they were geese.   It wan't until I started hunting in South Dakota that I seen cranes again and new that was what I had seen that day.

    Once, in South Dakota, I was watching some cranes in a field, several hundred on them.   There were two that looked a bit taller and lighter.   I got my binoculars out to see them better and sure enough, they were two whooping cranes hanging out with the sandhills.  That was pretty cool.
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  • He Dog
    See them almost daily in the Rio Grande Valley here.  Many, many more in the western flyway.  I have seen them closest in the Okefenokee swamp however.  
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  • Brookwood
    The farm fields around here get flocks of them during the nice weather months.  They are really quite beautiful birds to see up close.  No hunting them as been said above in Michigan.  Actually I was surprised  to hear they are hunted in other states, but also just recently learned that they even hunt SWANS in some places!  
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  • toad67
    Always hear them in the fall heading south, but never in the spring. They definitely have a distinct sound...
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