Dale wrote (in part):

[...] a group of birds on Orcas Island on the 18th which he
thought were cranes [...] on the shore.

Have you considered the "crane mimic" par excellence the Great Blue Heron?
People often ask me what those "cranes" are and invariably they end up being
GBHs.

A few years ago someone asked me what that crane was he saw the other day
around Green Lake, Seattle (for those of you unfamiliar with the area, a
very unlikely location for any crane). I asked if perhaps it could have been
a Great Blue Heron? No. So I described cranes...no, that wasn't it. So I
described a Great Blue Heron...yeah, that's it. Well, that's a Great Blue
Heron. No, it was NOT a Great Blue Heron. Okay, tough one. Here, let's look
in the field guide. Is it this (cranes)? No. Is it this (Great Blue Heron)?
Yes, that's exactly it! Well...that's a Great Blue Heron.....
No, your field guide is wrong....

Not to imply that Dale's friends would do this or that field guides are
without mistakes, simply musing over a failed attempt at helping someone id
a bird...

Martin Muller
MartinMuller at email.msn.com