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| Sandhill cranes at Creamer's Field, Fairbanks |
With the sandhill crane migration in progress just three hours north of Tok, we turned the truck around and drove to Fairbanks and Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. This 1,800-acre sanctuary is filled with fields, ponds, and forests.... and birds!
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| Sandhill crane practices dancing at Creamer's Field |
As many of you know, I grew up on the Texas coastal plains. I loved hearing the distinct sound of the sandhill bugle when they arrived each fall. Sandhills are one of only two kinds of cranes that live in North America. The other, of course, is the famous and rare whooping crane.
The sandhills stand about 40 inches tall. They are known best for their odd bugle and their strange dance. Their dance mostly occurs during mating but is also thought to strengthen social bonds. This group of sandhills fly the western migratory route, migrating from their nesting grounds in Siberia to their wintering grounds in New Mexico each year. Creamer's Field is a favorite stopover for these as well as many other migratory waterfowl.
We saw plenty of sandhills, geese, ducks, and even a pair of swans snoozing on the bank of one of the ponds.
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| Geese fussing at each other at Creamer's Field |
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| Swans snoozing at Creamer's Field. |
While this has been a short diversion from our travels back into Canada, as you can tell by the photos, it was well worth the side trip!
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