Over the past several days, several birders have sighted a sandhill crane or two at the Miry Run area (a.k.a. Dam Site 21) that touches Hamilton, Robbinsville and West Windsor, New Jersey. The site is a 15-minute drive from home. When my friend Laura texted me that she was going to try to find the bird late this afternoon, I eagerly responded that I’d leave work early to pick her up.
After parking, we took the short walk up to where the dam embankment begins. We hadn’t even begun to climb when off to my right I spotted the crane in some tall grass.
We lost sight of it almost immediately, but Laura spied it again after she headed up the embankment. I lumbered up to join her and had a clear view of the bird. It was preening itself at the edge of small pond below the spillway.
The bird was in the shade, and I had trouble getting a clear shot at first. Eventually my camera latched onto the bird, and I managed to get a few decent shots.
This was my first sighting of a sandhill crane in New Jersey, as the birds only appear during migration and only scarcely. Although a lifer for Laura, this was not my first sandhill encounter.
On a business trip to Grand Island, Nebraska, about 40 years ago, I stopped along the Platte River during mid-March when the sandhills (named for the Sandhills to the north of the river) were congregating during migration. I saw hundreds of them, if not thousands. I didn’t have a camera or binoculars with me, but the sight and sound of them were overwhelming and unforgettable. Some day I’ll go back.
The crane’s species name is Antigone canadensis, referring to Canada and a tragic figure in Greek mythology. Sophocles’ play “Antigone” — rife with incest, family feuding and suicide — is nonetheless my favorite play from Greek literature. I’ve read that masterpiece in Greek, and my copy of the book containing it remains on my shelves today.
That got me to thinking. My collection of bird books is nearly equal in number to my old classics texts from college.
I was happy to add the crane to my New Jersey life list. I wasn’t able to get out this morning, but the crane is a good start to my sightings for November. For good measure, we also saw a Cooper’s hawk, great blue heron, two pied-billed grebes, a coot, some vultures and heard a belted kingfisher. 🦅
The Jersey Birder 