IReto Riesen wrote:

> would there be a possibility that the Sandhill Crane could have been Great
> Blue Herons? More normal habitat for them?

Hi:

Actually that ID was my first thought. I have seen several GBHs in the Kent
area and other places. But this bird flew with the neck fully extended - all
the way out, I have never seen a bird in flight like that (other than smaller
cormorants). After my first brief sighting in flight, I would not have been
able to make a positive ID, but after it landed on the sand bar and I watched
it and compared it with my book, from my limited bird ID background would say
it was a sandhill. The bird didn't have much variation in coloring, and no
"cap" or peak on the head, and no other head markings or coloration. It was
from that 10 minute period of observation, and its flying again with neck
fully extended that I thought it was a sandhill.

Jim Brewster
BrewsPad at aol.com
Kent Washington