Sandhills?

Most Nantucketers would think - "Sandhills? Perhaps you mean sand dunes?" We have plenty of them on Nantucket. Their formations are viewed as protecting the edges of our shrinking island from the ravages of the sea. Who would ever call one a sand hill? The answer is - Nebraskans.

It turns out that sand hills are actually grass-covered sand dunes. They are similar to our dunes but they are in central Nebraska, in a huge area of almost 20,000 square miles. They're big piles of - mostly sand - and up to 300 feet high. This week's bird is named for them, the Sandhill Crane. The scientific name is Grus canadensis, because the original specimen came from Canada.

Strangely, the words Grus and crane come from the same root, back in a language that preceded Greek and Latin. It refers to the sound we hear when cranes fly past, calling to one another. The word "geranium" comes from the same source, because a geranium's seedpod resembles a crane's bill. Another word, "pedigree," translates to "crane foot," referring to the way that a family tree resembles the foot of a crane.

From all this we gather that there were cranes in Europe and Asia and they made a big impression on early humans that lived around them. Peter Matthiessen's book, "The Birds of Heaven," tells the story of all 15 species of the world's cranes and how they are revered as symbols of good fortune and longevity.

In North America we have two species of cranes. The Whooping Crane is recovering from near extinction from when the wild population declined to 18 birds in the late 1930. Now there are several hundred. Our bird this week is the Sandhill Crane, a bird that is abundant in its range in the central U.S. and Canada.

Cranes look like herons. Indeed our Great Blue Heron is often called the "Blue Crane." But they are not closely related at all. Although cranes build floating nests in shallow water, they spend most of their time marching around fields and pastures feeding on mainly vegetable matter.

Sandhill Cranes are tall, up to four feet, and have a rather dignified, stately appearance, except when they are courting or even just greeting one other. Then cranes do a lively dance. They jump high in the air and come back down, bowing to each other, or just run around in circles, flapping their wings. Their plumage is mainly gray with irregular rusty brown patches. They have crimson crowns and appear to have a shaggy "bustle" in the rear.

The main population of almost half a million birds passes through the Platte River region of Nebraska's sand hills in the spring and fall each year. In the spring this region is a major refueling point before they head to northern Canada for the nesting season. Typically two eggs are laid and the young cranes stay close to Mom and Dad for up to a year. It's not unusual for these birds to live more than 20 years.

The irony is that these revered birds are sought after by gunners. Crane shooting is a tradition. In north Texas, Panhandle's Best, Inc. offers hunting over "mounted crane decoys." Historically people of the Great Plains referred to them as "15 pound turkeys," and their grain-fed flesh is reputedly sweet.

One of the most heart-rending stories I read involved a young bird wounded by a hunter. It managed to get into the air but then could not keep up with the flock. One of its parents seemed to realize the problem and flew beneath the injured bird, allowing it to rest its feet on the other's back, and between the two of them, the wounded bird was flown out of range of the hunters. Examples of devotion like this give you a feeling why cranes are revered the world around.

Sandhill Cranes are now straying to the east more frequently, and a few are nesting in New England. Last fall one visited Nantucket for a while about this time around the Milestone cranberry bogs, and this spring one was very observable, walking the open fields around the two golf courses between the 6th and 7th milestones on the 'Sconset Road.

If you see a very tall bird looking like it's walking along with its hands in its pockets across an open field, you may well have found a Sandhill Crane. He is far from his thousands of cousins off in the sand hills. Enjoy your view and try to pick up the feeling our human ancestors had - good fortune and the hope of longevity - in seeing such a bird.

Find more about Birding Nantucket on the web at http://k-blackshaw.com/ BN/BN.htm

If you enjoy "social" birding, join the Nantucket Bird Club for a walk any Sunday starting at 8 a.m. in the Nantucket High School parking lot. Dress for the weather. Plan to be out until about 10:30 a.m. and perhaps meet for breakfast afterwards.

To hear about rare birds, or to leave a bird report call the Massachusetts Audubon hot line at 1-781-259-8805. I

George C. West creates illustrations for these articles.