Crane Spotting

I've lived in Oklahoma for 9 years.  9 years NOT KNOWING that there is a nature preserve and wildlife refuge 2 short hours away, in northern Oklahoma, where cranes flock during the fall migration.

They DO NOT fly over OKC, so, naturally, I never thought that they would flock up 2 hours directly north of here.... 

I have not seen any cranes in the air since I left Illinois, and this has been a little bit heart breaking for me.

Crane Medicine is a big deal for me.... Always has been.  I remember being quite young, and being awe struck by the small flocks of then-at-risk migrating sand hill cranes flying over Wheaton, Illinois in the spring and fall.

My mother made fun of me, and warned me about looking at the sky while driving to my job at the burger joint when I was in high school.

As the years went by, and the flocks started to recover their numbers, and I grew up and moved out of my parents' house, but I still watched the skies spring and fall, and listened for the haunting rattle of the migrating cranes.

One of the first poems I ever wrote was about cranes.  (if you are interested, you can find some of my poetry at www.triskele.deviantart.com)

SO... despite a weather forecast that calls for cold and actual snow, we are going Crane Spotting today!

We will make the drive up north of Enid to Jet, OK, where lies the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge.  They have been logging Sandhill crane census numbers in the 20K range, and they have seen several Whooping cranes as well.

I have only ever seen one Whooping crane in the wild.  They are still highly endangered, and I would dearly love to see some today!

We are taking our warm winter coats, gloves, hats, boots, and we are going.  Binoculars and field glasses and monocular packed and ready to go.

We had hoped to go last weekend, when it was 60 degrees and dry out, but we didn't make it. 

My office is closed tomorrow in observance of Veterans' Day, so Dave took it off, too, and we will stay at an Air BnB tonight, and come back in the morning.  That way, we have TWO chances, afternoon today and morning tomorrow, to view the flocks on the ground, as well as taking off and landing.

I am beyond excited.... Off to the shower!