You expect to see a crane on a city street in a construction zone. But the word “crane” can mean more than one thing. The construction crane, okay. The other kind, whoa, that’s a stopper.
But you better not stop or the guy driving behind could crash into you. Yeah, there on a busy four-lane in a busy part of town, a crane is casually crossing the road. A Sandhill Crane.
At first you think it’s a Great Blue Heron, really lost. But it’s got bright red on its head. This bird—this surprising and surprised Sandhill Crane must be really lost, and you sense its disorientation.
Maybe you imagine how this gawky bird feels as it walks on stilt-like legs across this unfamiliar, unnatural street of human traffic that smells to the wild crane like the circle of hell where gasoline fumes originate.
For a weird moment you identify with the bird, with the feeling of being horribly out of place. Of that universal bad dream of walking into a school classroom having forgotten to put on clothes. You sense that’s how the crane feels.
It somehow got itself in a place not for cranes, but it understands that to unfold giant wings and flap up and away out of that wrong place, would cause even more attention. So the bird keeps walking.
Walking now between two parked cars, and although your view becomes blocked you know it’s continuing into a strip of grass, then onto a sidewalk—where it also doesn’t belong.
You’ve seen cranes in the air overhead many times—flying in flock formation—but have never seen one, alone, on the ground walking in front of your car and other cars, so out of place.
You drive on, thinking, hmm, just saw a Sandhill Crane—weird. Gotta write something about it. But would anyone care? Maybe there’s one person out there in the world somewhere who’d read these lines down to the last word—and that person would care. So, yeah, write about it.
Coincidentally saw one not long ago near a field and also thought the bird would be reluctant to call attention to itself by opening those big wings, but it surprised us and with one huge flap ascended up and away. Quite a sight!
Loved this! Never knew cranes have red on their heads.
You piqued my interest in cranes! Came across an unusual fact about them on the internet and discovered that baby Sandhill Cranes are called colts! Colts!