FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] Playin' in the cow pies . . .

[Brainard.Palmer-Ball@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The manager of our farm in eastern Jefferson County saw about 100 Sandhill
Cranes sit down in a pasture for about 30-40 minutes on Wednesday afternoon.
I walked through the pasture yesterday in hopes of finding a few feathers
(no luck).  At first I thought I might have a difficult time figuring out
where they had put down, but it soon became quite apparent that that would
be no problem!  As a matter of fact, it turned out (at least to me) to be
really humorous to see how they had spent their time . . . you certainly
could tell where they had been because the "cow pies" that have been laying
in the middle portion of the pasture since about November were picked and
strewn widely about in pieces as a Pileated throws flakes of wood around a
stump or fallen log.  Many of the pies were completely dismantled, exposing
the soil beneath them.  I suspect it was invertebrate prey the birds were
after, perhaps earthworms, but it certainly was an education in crane
resourcefulness.  One can just picture them picking through the bison pies
of the native grasslands several hundred years ago :o)

bpb, Louisville
brainard.palmer-ball@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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