let’s look at the details

our sandhill cranes are still here. we are expecting them to leave any day now, joining up with other migrants heading south. they are mostly done molting, but their feathers still litter out yard. this photo is a close-up of one of their feathers. the detail is exquisite. i have to downsize my images when i post them, otherwise your browser would take too long to load my images. usually, i am okay with the loss of resolution. but with an image like this, it hurts. i’d love to be able to share the full resolution image so we could, together, marvel at the intricate detail of feathers. nature at it’s most remarkable.

p.s. the collective noun for a flock of cranes is a sedge. other collective nouns for cranes include a siege and a herd. the term ‘sedge’ is derived from the old english word ‘secg’, which means ‘sword’. this is likely due to the long, thin shape of a crane’s neck, which resembles a sword.

sandhill crane feather close-up (Antigone canadensis)