Young Sandhill Crane

Another one from the nearby pond last night. This little guy was very curious as he zipped by in front of me dutifully following his parents along the water's edge . The family made it out to its raised nest in the middle of the pond about 80 feet away, but soon after they reached the nest, a small alligator positioned itself low in the water about 15 feet from the nest, basically between the nest and the reed bed where the cranes came from. Both adult cranes remained vigilent and the gator never came any closer. A lady taking pictures near where I was told me that cranes will actually attack a gator when protecting their young ones. Apparently the cranes try to peck the gator's eyes out. Maybe that is where Alfred Hitchcock got the idea in his classic movie "The Birds". Hope you like the picture.