Day 157 - Close Encounter of the Avian Kind

The chickens aren't the only ones wildlife watching us. 

On a solo hike through the backyard, probably to scout a potential area of restoration, I had a close encounter with a sandhill crane. While hiking, I got very close to it without even trying and it was not happy with me. It made lots of noise and scurried away. It seemed like it was worried and nervous, so I walked away to what I thought was a safer vantage point to see if anything developed. Curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to stay out a little longer and watch this beautiful creature. I heard the bird call and saw it saunter into the tall grass and decided to perch on the log of a fallen tree and wait. I could hear the other adult call but couldn't quite see where it was.

My curiosity was soon overwhelmed by my lack of patience. Just as I was about to head back, I saw an adult crane move out of the tall grass where a bird had gone in just a few moments before. It walked away from the grass as if it was trying to lure me away from where I was observing.

It worked. 

As I headed towards the bird, I heard something from behind me. About fifty yards away, another adult was visible, appearing to be glaring in my direction. With it was a young colt. Now I know why I was being lured away. I decided (foolishly) to head back to the direction of the pair.  The birds seemed to call back and forth as one led the baby into the tall grass and the other worked their way back in my direction. The actions and calls of the birds gave me an uneasy feeling. I wouldn't say that it struck fear inside of me, but I did get the feeling that maybe I was not where I should be. They weren’t doing anything wrong. They were protecting their valuable asset. I decided to protect my own assets and leave the birds alone. 

I immediately changed course and tried to get back to the house without issue.

It didn't work.