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At the 40th Christmas Bird Count held at Deep Creek Lake, spectators and wildlife enthusiasts were rewarded for there dedication and patience with the rare winter visit of a sandhill crane. Naturalists present when the above photographs were taken believe the crane to be young, as it has a rusty-colored, feathered crown and yellow eyes. According to Cornell’s Birds of North America, an adult’s crown would be covered with bright red skin, and its eye would be colored somewhere between chrome orange and flame scarlet. No matter the age, however, the bird is distinct and beautiful. Sandhill cranes stand about 4 feet tall with a wing span of 6.5 to 7 feet and are primarily birds of open freshwater wetlands. The cranes generally feed on a wide variety of plant tubers, grains, small vertebrates (e.g., mice and snakes), and invertebrates such as insects or worms.
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