On the 18th of March I made another visit to my local sandhill crane family. The chicks or colts, as they are called, now two weeks old, did not tire as quickly and were full of energy, which made keeping up with them a lot harder. They also started to imitate their parents more.
When the parent would jump up and flap its wings, the chicks would start jumping around flapping their wings. Such a joy to watch! These chicks will stay with the parents for the next 10 months or so, at which time they will leave to join nomadic flocks with other subadults and nonbreeders. They stay with these flocks until they form breeding pairs and start breeding between the ages of 2 to 7 years old.
Nancy Elwood
Nancy Elwood is a Florida based professional nature and wildlife photographer. Her interest in the natural world started as a child reading and watching National Geographic. After graduating from Florida State University School of Nursing, she developed her interest in photography travelling with several National Geographic photographers to Africa, Antarctica and the Falkland Islands. With them she started to hone her skills in capturing natures wonders through a camera lens. Nancy now, when not in the field, shows her work in juried art shows and runs photography workshops.
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