Bird of the Day: White-naped crane (Antigone vipio)

white-naped crane (Antigone vipio)

This beautiful bird is the white-naped crane (Antigone vipio), an Asian crane that breeds in northern Mongolia, northeastern China, and neighboring parts of Russia. The eastern members of the species winter in Japan and Korea, including the Korean demilitarized zone. Japan and Korea play important roles in my family history, so maybe that’s why this particular pair of cranes were so cooperative in letting me take their pictures.

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Dinosaurs in my neighborhood

After seeing the sandhill cranes yesterday, I decided it would be a good idea to take my camera on my afternoon walk. Usually, that would make all the birds go into hiding, but I found a heron hiding out behind the shore grass. Herons don’t sound like dinosaurs, but they sure look like them. I stalked it as it stalked … Read more