We arrive in the Whitewater Draw area about one hour before sunset and even before reaching Whitewater Draw proper we can see movement on the fields. There are cranes, lots of them, a major attraction for our relative which hasn’t seen that many cranes from close up. And then it is time to drive to the protected area to see if there are any cranes at Whitewater Draw proper.
And the answer is that, yes, there are. Quite a few of them really. A lot in fact. Some are settling for the evening some are mock fighting or posturing and some are just hanging around.
They are not even the only birds here. There is a beautiful and colorful vermillion flycatcher but the cherry on top are a couple of Soras. We have looked for them for years and saw them finally in Mexico earlier this year and now they are just wandering in front of us, amazing.
There is a cacophony of sounds and lots of birds flying around us, it feels like we are in a nature documentary, impressive.
We continue looking for other birds amidst the cranes, there are a few pintails and other ducks but our eyes continue to be drawn by the cranes that are everywhere.
And then there are the blackbirds. They are flying around in huge flocks all around us and it takes a bit for us to recognize that they are yellow-headed blackbirds, quite cool to see.
Before starting our return towards our AirBnB and Tombstone we enjoy a beautiful sunset and the cranes flying across the bloodred sky, it is an impressive sight, worth spending some time in the almost freezing cold.
