A New Formation

The skies in my area commonly have Canada Geese flying.  We see them and hear their honking throughout the year.  These sights and sounds are treats every time I encounter them.  This week something different was in our sky.  The colors were not the same, the size was larger, and their sounds were strange.  The only familiar part was the birds flying in a "V" formation.  It was exciting to both see and hear Sandhill Cranes silhouetted against a cold blue sky.  I was so excited I failed to count them, however, a good estimate would place their numbers around forty.

This was an impressive formation of birds and their constant communications proved delightful.  The sounds were constant and seemed to move up and down the line of birds.  I imagined they were in telling each other about how to keep the formation shaped and directioned.  They may have even been commenting on the gawking humans below.  The formation undulated, constantly changing, and the only constant was a southward direction.

I wondered about the instincts that urge these large birds to migrate from Canada to Florida and back each year.  My mind considered what abilities they had to execute the migrations.  How did the birds get into this cycle that takes them such extreme distances to utilize specific environments?  They have to get what they need; food and places for young to grow and survive.  Life tries very hard to continue.