Lost And Found

Sandhill Cranes at Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area

Page two. A couple days ago I wrote about our great field trip last Saturday to the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area near Shreve, Ohio. Well, here’s the rest of the story.
On Sunday Susan discovered she had misplaced her new-favorite cap. It took a little brain work (I was well qualified) to determine that the hat was still down at the offices of the Area Wilderness Headquarters. A call to Tom Henry started the recovery process, with final confirmation early Monday morning. Being retired and having nothing better to do than bird one of the premier spots in Ohio, we were loaded and on the road by the crack of 8:30 am Monday.
And a gorgeous morning for a drive it was. Mike and others were at the office, hat in hand. After some great conversation with Eric about the Killbuck Marsh and its future, we thought a little birding was in order. And if we stalled around long enough we’d be just about on schedule for lunch at the Amish restaurant in Shreve.



This pair of cranes was among the flock of 30 we saw

We returned to some of the spots Su Snyder had introduced us to on Saturday, then decided to take a quick look from the observation platform overlooking the marsh in hopes of seeing some Sandhill Cranes. On Saturday we saw a half dozen or so. Eric said the flock numbers about 50.
Our reward for searching a bit harder was drop-dead, in-your-face looks at a pair of cranes. One bird was close enough to read the band on its leg: Z-19. From the observation platform we counted 28 more of these special birds in breeding plumage, a rare finding in this neck of the woods.



Tonight, June 4, is the Full Strawberry Moon, named for the time of year. I suppose there's a reason they did not name it the Rhubard Moon. Anyway, this is how it appeared last night through the trees in our yard.