It took me a long time to find the Sandhill that Ronan O'Carra reported at
UK Research/Spindletop/Maine Chance Farm as he was posing as a Great Blue
Heron on the pond's retaining wall. I became concerned when from a
distance I could only see feather spines on the left wing so did get close
enough to spook it as I was concerned it was injured and might not be able
to fly. It could fly and went into a cornfield where he periodically
called out. Zoomed in photos do show there are feathers and it is not just
spines. I don't know if this bird is going through a normal molt or
recovering from an injury with new feathers but the left wing feathers
certainly are very different than the right. It made me wonder though if
this is the reason he is Lexington alone. I'm curious what others think.
Photos of the Sandhill here, including some close-ups photos of the
feathers: http://tinanauman.zenfolio.com/p1057446272
Tina Nauman
Lexington, KY
