Sandhill Cranes in our backyard

We love birds. We can sit for hours watching our birdfeeder.  When we moved into this house we were blessed with a pair of Sandhill Cranes that nested close to our yard.  We watched the baby from the time it was no more than 6" tall until they were ready to head south for the winter.  It was amazing watching him/her learn to fly. 

We add lots of cracked corn to the seed for the ground feeders.  Actually I do it for the Mourning Doves.  We have 8 regulars now.  It also will bring in a few geese once in a while but I look forward to when the cranes find it.  And they have. 

A few nights ago my hubby caught them coming down the field right behind our house.  We were thrilled that they finally made it that close.  He walked right out to the edge of the field and snapped a few shots before they flew off.

Here are the pics he was lucky to get. 

 He was probably less than 15 feet from them at this point. 

Then yesterday I was looking out the kitchen window and something caught my eye under the feeder.  The Sandhill Cranes were resting under the feeder.  By the time I got the camera they moved but I still got some pretty good shots.  These were taken through the window.  Which is probably about 20' off the deck.  I love them being this close.    

Looks like they have found something to nibble on. 

Look at the upper left hand corner of this picture and you will see a nosey Canadian Goose wondering what he's missing out on. 

Ah, it's so nice to live in the country.  Hope you enjoy this little photo essay as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you.