I’ve met Stumpy and Crossbill

I worked in the visitor’s center this morning helping out Fonda.  I’ll talk about what we were working on in another post.  This afternoon, Jay came to my rig and asked if I thought I’d be able to lead a tour tomorrow morning.  (Wednesday is his golf day:))  I told him I felt comfortable with the material to be covered on a tour, but was not positive about the route taken in the van.  So, we headed out to cover the route that I would be taking with eight people signed up for the tour.

 

The tours are run in the early morning to increase the chance of seeing the cranes.  When I accompanied Jay on his tour last Saturday, we found one of the cranes that is known as Stumpy.  I had spotted a Mississippi sandhill crane in a field, but it was limping.  After checking the colors of the bands on it’s legs, he informed me that this bird was known as Stumpy.  It turns out this female crane was born without a foot (toes) on one leg, hence the nickname. 

Most of the 112 Mississippi sandhill cranes are known by a number, but a few have acquired a nickname.  Today, we spotted another pair of cranes in the backyard of a private residence.  The bird on the left is known as Crossbill.

You can see that Crossbill’s top mandible seems to cross over the lower mandible.  See how straight her mate’s bill is?

When cranes are feeding, most often one of the pair will stand guard while the other one eats.  In the first two pics, Crossbill is standing guard while her mate eats.  These cranes, by the way, mate for life.  The crane on the right is known as right leg red over orange by left leg green, since that’s the colors of the bands on it’s legs.

Also notice that Crossbill has a white band on the right, and the yellow transmitter on the left leg.  That transmitter allows staff to follow her movements and zero in on her nest once breeding season begins.  Must be time for her to eat while hubby stands guard.  :)

Occasionally, both birds will feed together if all seems safe.  This private resident enjoys the cranes, so puts out corn everyday for them to feed on.  While this practice is not encouraged by the refuge, it does help us tour guides who feel some pressure to produce some of these most rare birds for out tour participants.  :)

 

There is also one crane known as Leroy, but I don’t know his story yet; nor have I met him!  I’ll have to ask around about that.  I’m going to hope for positive vibes tomorrow morning as I lead my first tour at this refuge.  I’m counting on you, Stumpy and Crossbill!

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy