Sandhill cranes announce spring’s arrival in Southwest Florida
In south Sarasota County where I live, the residents mark their seasonal clocks with the arrival of baby sand- hill cranes. These awkward, almost prehistoric-looking creatures are an endearing feature of the natural landscape in wet marshlands of Southwest Florida. My children have an annual competition to be the first to see a baby accompanying its parents for an early dawn breakfast along the roadsides near Publix or along Central Sarasota Parkway. The roadside as a dinner table, you might inquire in horror? What is an endangered species of wading bird doing in such a dangerous place near fast-moving traffic? Their story is a wonderful success illustrating that wildlife are adapting to urban sprawl.
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