Description
There is a muddy grassy bump on the floor of Floating Island Lake, near the west shore. A pair of sandhill cranes built a nest on this boggy lump, pulling tule reeds and grasses up onto the mound about a foot above the water surface. The cranes had been defending this spot for over two weeks. The one on the right was sitting on the empty nest while the other stood watch. When the one on the right stood up, I wondered which was the male and which was the female since they look the same to me. They stood together for a while. The one on the right squatted down in an odd posture for nearly a minute, stood up tall, threw back her head and let loose the wonderful prehistoric rattling call they have. Then I noticed the large, light brown egg below her. She might have been saying “Look what I just did,” or maybe, “Wow, I’m glad that’s over.”
