Watching cranes pass by

This weekend will the the Sandhill Crane Festival in Monte Vista, 
at the other end of the San Luis Valley.

Yes, lectures, presentations, and bus rides to where these guys are.
23,000 of them fly through here, on their 850 mile trip back from Bosque del Apache, 
down by Socorro, NM, to their breeding grounds northwest Colorado, western Wyoming, and northern Idaho.

They come to eat the barley, which we sell to Coors' brewery
and lots of other grasses, so abundant in the marshes of this desert.

And big guys they are; 4 feet in height, up to 11 or even 13 pounds.

with a 6-7 foot wingspan, greater than even Kodiak's Bald Eagles.

They say they'll fly up to 30,000 feet, up there with your commercial jets, 
and at a speed of 45 mph.

They had their chick near Yellowstone, then flew through here in Autumn, 
and now are on their way back home.
Sometime between here and there, they'll turn their offspring loose, 
to find his or her own mate for the remainder of their 20 to 30 years of life.

So we get to be the voyeur

and perhaps watch a parent give their young a one-to-one lecture,

or maybe see that 2 to 5 year old fellow turn on all his charm

and dance around that girl he likes.

It'll sure put a smile on you

to watch that never-ending courting show.

Check it out at:
http://dnr.state.co.us/newsapp/press.asp?PressId=8196
http://www.colorado-for-free.com/FreeThingsToDoColorado/CraneFestival.htm
http://www.cranefest.com/cranes.html