Nature provides an endless variety of creatures to observe on any walk along a shore, through a field, or in a woodland. And Nature can surprise you when you are busy doing something else, as I was recently while driving a rural road. Standing tall and stately waiting to cross were two Sandhill Cranes! Astonished, I pulled by and stopped to make sure the cranes crossed safely ahead of a few oncoming cars and quickly snapped two fuzzy photos (only one shared here). The cranes, unperturbed since the oncoming cars politely stopped giving ample distance, walked so beautifully across the road and into the field beyond. I was mesmerized. I'd never seen Sandhill Cranes before and knew that they are uncommon in Maine - reported as infrequent visitors for the last fifty years or so, and as a small documented number of breeding pairs during the last twenty years in southern Maine.

They get their common name from the sandhills region of Nebraska where they stop over along the Platte River during their spring migration to rest, feed, and socialize before continuing northward to their breeding grounds. This is the largest gathering of sandhill cranes in the world and has been going on for millions of years.

Learn more about Sandhill Cranes:

• View the migration and gathering as a short video.
• Visit the information pages by All About Birds.

I hope that Nature provides you with joy and happy surprises every day!

A Nature Moment to Watch for Tonight & Tomorrow if the sky is clear and dark, you might be able to view the Aurora Borealis!  Learn more at the University of Alaska Aurora Forecast page and from this NPR article.