Sandhill cranes

Photos by Ron Mayberry

Although they’re somewhat strange birds, sandhill cranes have become the wildlife darlings of Lakewood Ranch.

CRANE country DID YOU KNOW?

Despite their slow gait, gray feathers and attraction to golf courses, most Florida cranes are not snowbirds.

The Florida sandhill crane is a non-migratory year-round breeding resident. Greater sandhill cranes, however, migrate in the winter from northern states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin and Indiana.

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ROBIN HARTILL | CONTRIBUTOR

Sandhill cranes have lived in East County for 2.5 million years. Rapid development in Lakewood Ranch has created a complex relationship between birds and residents.

S

andhill cranes aren’t afraid to dance like no one is watching.

They bop their heads. They do the hop. They move like Jagger.

They stretch their wings. They shake their tail feathers. It’s mostly a mating ritual, although they boogie even when breeding season is over. It’s thought to be a way to thwart aggression, relieve tension and strengthen the bond between pairs. Sometimes, it’s accompanied by calls of “KAR-R-R-R-R-R-ROO!” “The way they call and dance and jump up and down makes them really fun to watch,” says Ron Mayberry, a lifelong nature enthusiast.

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Continued from Page 57 Mayberry, who became a wildlife photographer when he retired 10 years ago, has photographed birds on all seven continents, plus the North Pole. Of all the birds he’s captured with his lens, cranes are his favorite. Mayberry, who used to own an East County computer business, is such a crane worshiper he referred to himself as a “craniac” during a photo presentation several years ago.

He unofficially became a craniac about a decade ago, when he spotted a group of cranes roosting in a wetland area during sunrise at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.

“It was the most magical thing I

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had ever seen,” Mayberry says. “You can feel the compression of all these birds taking off at once.”

Although the local population of sandhill cranes is stable, the birds are still living large in Lakewood Ranch, where their quiet habitat is now packed with people, cars and houses. This encroachment has created a delicate dance between bird and man.

In 2014, Sarasota-based Save Our Seabirds received 32 calls for sandhill crane rescues in Lakewood Ranch. Threats are everywhere.

Heavy traffic, power lines, domestic pets, litter and wayward golf balls have wounded cranes.

Robin Hartill “They’re very docile and they’re very trusting,” says David Pilston, Ron Mayberry, a lifelong wildlife enthusiast, says he became a “craniac” after spending time photographing the birds.

CEO of Save Our Seabirds.

FREE BIRD Karen Bennett, who handles most of Save Our Seabirds’ sandhill crane rescues in Lakewood Ranch, feels like a military insurgent when she executes a rescue. When a bird got a paperclip stuck in its beak at Kaiser University’s Lakewood Ranch campus, Bennett assembled a makeshift team of nearby strangers to help “ambush” the bird.

The act of goodwill quickly took a comical turn when the startled crane suddenly took flight, causing one of the good Samaritans to fall in the mud.

According to Bennett, rescuing a sandhill crane typically takes three to four hours.

Cranes are strong and like to kick. Rescuers will get close enough to grab the bird, only to have it dart up in the air or attempt to kick itself free.

“They don’t understand the word ‘fore,’ so they don’t clear out of the way for golfers.”

Karen Bennett, who handles most sandhill crane calls for Save Our Seabirds, once attempted to rescue a sandhill with a paperclip stuck on its beak at Lakewood Ranch-based Kaiser University.

(The bird eventually used its foot to pry off the clip.)

East County was sandhill crane territory long before Lakewood Ranch was sketched out in a developer’s drawing pad. In the 1980s, crane fossils estimated to be 2.5 million years old were unearthed in the Macasphalt Shell Pit, just east of Sarasota.

“They’re not invading our territory,” Pilston says. “We’re invading their territory.” Despite the melee, in 2014 Schroeder-Manatee Ranch declared the sandhill crane the official mascot of Lakewood Ranch. It even held a naming contest. The winner: Cranky the Crane.

CRANE MANIA The number of craniacs like Mayberry is on the rise.

Lakewood Ranch Town Hall receives phone calls on a weekly basis from locals who want to learn more about the peculiar bird.

Cranes are often seen hanging out along Lakewood Ranch Boulevard or in the roundabout at the new Mall at University Town Center.

They like to hide their nests in low-lying, reedy areas, which is why the runoff area near State Road 70 and I-75 is such a crane magnet.

“They’re very stately, and they walk very slowly,” says Lori Roberts, Manatee County Audubon Society board member. “They’ll cross the road and they don’t care if you’re going 50 mph.”

Cranes are more than just oblivious birdbrains. Like many modern suburbanites, they lead complicated love lives. They’re devoted partners until breeding begins. Some

cranes mate for life and go on to successfully reproduce. Other pairs split up after a season or two due to unsuccessful breeding.

“They get married, but sometimes that doesn’t work out,” Mayberry says.

Divorce is not the only thing sandhill cranes have in common with their human neighbors. They’re also overly protective parents. On average, cranes hatch two eggs at a time and then keep the baby birds, called colts, under their wings for as long as two seasons — much longer than most bird species.

Mayberry used to watch a mated pair in a vacant lot across the street from his business.

One day, after the couple had nested, Mayberry got a surprise visit.

The pair, along with their young colts, had dodged traffic on State Road 70 in an attempt to reach his office. Typical new parents, showing off their young.

Colts also experience sibling

rivalry. If more than one baby bird shares a nest, you can expect the colts to squabble and smack each other around. This is nature’s way of making the birds stronger.

Two years ago, Mayberry filmed two chick siblings locked in battle and uploaded the video to YouTube.

In a nod to the WWF, he named the clip “Wildlife, Wrestling and Fighting.” It’s up to 256 views.

“I watched the two brothers pretty much bang themselves to death as they came off of the nest,” Mayberry says. “I watched them pretty much every day for a month.”

Typically, if an injured crane can still fly and feed itself, rescuers will keep it in the wild in part because the birds have such strong family ties.

“They can often do just fine for a long period of time,” Pilston said.

“Because they tend to mate for life and the babies stay with them, we try not to break up the families.”

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HOW TO COEXIST WITH CRANES

TOUGH OLD BIRDS

NEVER FEED CRANES.

Fortunately, cranes are adaptable, although Mayberry suspects the animals might be moving further east due to development.

Wildlife officials say certain precautions can be taken to protect the birds. Audubon Society members would love to see more crane crossing signs to alert drivers.

You don’t have to be a birdwatcher to keep an eye out for cranes.

You might even pick up a few dance moves. Mating season is upon us and sandhill cranes across Lakewood Ranch are turning heads with their endearing bird tango. Soon longlegged baby cranes will be pecking the ground outside your home.

It’s like they say: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby cranes blocking the 18th hole.

“They were here long before anyone else was here,” Mayberry says. “I suspect they might be here long after everyone else is gone.”

Source: Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

Cranes will inhabit urban areas if they’re getting takeout from people around the clock.

COVER OR MOVE YOUR CAR. Cranes are easily confused by their own reflection, which is why they often attack shiny surfaces. Windows or glass doors can be temporarily covered so birds are less likely to spar with their own mug.

BUILD A CRANE TRIP LINE. Mount a string on stakes about 2-and-a-half feet off the ground and run it around the areas of your home (windows, pool screens, etc.) that are crane magnets.

LET THE CRANE EARN ITS KEEP. Sure, cranes damage lawns and gardens when they dig for mole crickets and beetle grubs. Albeit annoying, cranes can provide natural biological control of common turf pests.

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