Spring and northward migration go together...we were sitting at Owl Pavilion, watching much smaller birds, when we heard the mellow "Prrrroooo...prrrrrooo" of cranes. And indeed, there they were, 32 cranes. But which cranes? Sandhills was the easy answer, but the sandhill cranes I'd seen before did not have black-tipped wings. Only one kind does...but these cranes didn't look quite white enough, or big enough. After looking at the images in the computer and sharing them with people who've seen more cranes...yes, they're sandhills, but a particular race of them which does have dark-tipped wings.
Color came back into the winter drabs with this little geranium-family flower a week ago. I didn't key it out, so I'm not sure which one it was.	By February 27, the bush honeysuckle near the house was covered with delicate flowers, scenting the yard with a light, lemony fragrance. Bees like it, too.
Mexican plum, a native wild plum, opened its flowers first on February 27 and a few days of warmth and sun will make it a white cloud.	Scarlet buckeye won't open up its flowers for several days to a week, but its exotic "umbrella" leaves and stalk of buds are handsome anyway.
Winter-form Question Mark butterflies are orange on both sets of wings, and the adults live through the winter in crevices. In summer, the hind wing is very dark.
We have two wren species as permanent residents on the place. I've shown good images of the Carolina wren before; this is the Bewick's wren. This pose shows the Attitude.	Compared to the Carolina, the Bewick's has a longer tail, and is a grayer brown on the back, with a pale gray front. The Carolina has a gold to buffy front.
I didn't need the cardinal for color this week...but the pose was so perfect.
Roots, fallen tree trunk, flotsam, and water...one of several pictures on the creek at Gravel Ford.

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