I was around Switz City on my way to Linton this morning, at about 8:30, when I saw the great Sandhill Crane migration. There were thousands of them! They were in V formations the apex of which was the side of another, that connected to another on and on, cascading across the sky. And their lines were fluid, not straight, but wavering, sometimes breaking up and forming a new V. The best part was how the sun would catch the bright underside of their wings on the upstroke creating a flash of white, setting the whole sky sparkling.
It's not like they filled the sky like they talk about what used to happen in the pre-industrial world. I could see them in the distance and watched as I approached, but I could not see the beginning nor the end of the column. They stretched from horizon to horizon. I should have looked at the odometer while I was under them to see how wide the column was. It was at least a mile, I'm sure. I rolled my window down but was disappointed that I couldn't hear their distinctive trilling over the roar of the wind and my engine.
When I got to my delivery at Bender Lumber in Linton the workers there confirmed that it was the Sandhill Cranes. "They've been around here for about a week," I was told. I don't think they're going to be around there any longer. An hour later, on my way back toward Bloomington they were still passing over, going north. This was a lesser column though, I could see the apex of this group, though I still couldn't see its tail.
It seems a little early for them to be heading north, but then what do I know. Did the groundhog see its shadow today?
