----- Original Message -----
From: Craig Dempsey
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 9:17 PM
Subject: sand hill cranes?


I live about a mile inland and a half mile west of the
Elwha River. At midday I heard a gentle croaking bird call and looked up expecting to see a raven in a nearby tree top. Instead, much higher than tree top, I saw four large birds flying in a tight diagonal line formation. Their long legs were trailing behind like a herons but, unlike a heron, their necks were not tucked in but extended. Also,
the croaking call was not as harsh as a heron's. They were headed straight south above the Elwha in what appeared a migratory beeline. My first thought was, for some reason, "stork". I got out the bird book and the birds that fly like this, long trailing legs and long extended necks, are storks, cranes and ibis. I would think that the most likely candidate would be the sandhill crane although I see the common crane is a sometime visitor to the western U.S. from Eurasia though no mention of Washington. If anyone has any thoughts on this I would like to hear them.
craigdempsey