Sandhill Cranes

Single crane sounding his(?) raucous call.

These powerful birds will apparently fly up, clawed feet extended, to defend their young from eagles, and try to drive their beaks into the skulls of predatory mammals.

A few days later, they formed ever larger flocks ever high, until, croaking cries still audible, they disappeared into the wintry overcast to be gone until October 2013.

--
erichK
saskatoon, canada
Photography is a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph, or a group of them, can lure our sense of awareness.
- W. Eugene Smith, Dec 30, 1918 to Oct 15, 1978.
http://erichk.zenfolio.com/
http://www.fototime.com/inv/7F3D846BCD301F3
underwater photos:
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/5567