Sandhill Cranes

A trip to the southeastern border of Arizona brought me to a new and exciting realization. The Sandhill Cranes are annual visitors to the Sonoran Desert. They winter in several sites in the middle and southwestern parts of the US. The truly wonderful thing about this phenomenon is that we have wetlands in Arizona…just an hour or so away from Tucson. I have known for a long time that Arizona is a bird watchers paradise, but never quite realized how many amazing opportunities we have here to see and enjoy these birds. I did not know that we had the wetlands like Whitewater Draw right in our own backyard (so to speak). And the miraculous and exciting thing is that we get to visit them every year between October and March.

Whitewater Draw-The cranes returning from a day of foraging and adventure.

It is amazing that within five minutes this spacious open sky will fill up with thousands of crains, making horrendous noise as they fly in, land and congregate with each other below. Our visit to the wetlands at Whitewater Draw began during the winter of 2021 while COVID was still around and hampering our travels…we were able to wander down on a day trip and watch the migration…the wonder of it all is that these creatures are the first things I wanted to paint when I picked up my brushes to begin with art again after decades of “painting in my mind”! These travels on the internal pathways of my imagination are truly the essence of “Flytes of Fancy”.

**Return Flight Sandhill Cranes**–*All rights reserved (c) Montie Slavin*

One of the many interesting things about the cranes is the way they gather on the shores of the water when they return to rest. It looks like they line up and bunch up as thousands of birds start landing…sort of a welcoming party. These images create a sense of calm for me…am sure they are not so calm after flying miles in formation and landing with deliberation…but they make me feel quieted.

THE GADSDEN HOTEL-DOUGLAS, AZ

Last fall (2022) we took a full weekend adventure to visit the Sandhill Cranes again. Since Whitewater Draw is only a 20-minute drive from Douglas, AZ, we took advantage of the opportunity to stay at the historic Gadsden Hotel. Over the years, Dave and I have been privileged to visit and sometimes stay at old historic hotels. The Gadsden was once a grand place to stay in a small mining town just steps away from the border with Mexico on the south and New Mexico on the east. It was partially renovated-just the mezzanine level rooms, lobby and restaurant/bar. However, that lobby is spectacular with its stained-glass ceiling and grand marble staircase.

When the economy was booming and the mines were producing, Douglas was an exciting place to be. Now, it is pretty quiet but not deserted. There is farming and commerce along with the tourism to keep it interesting. We happened to be there for their Christmas parade. We were able to take our hot chocolates to the second-floor terrace overlooking the main street—where all the action was! Just about every governmental and emergency vehicle in the county was decorated and driven through the old town. And yes, Santa was there too!

WHITEWATER DRAW

Of course, our main purpose for visiting Douglas and Whitewater Draw was to once again take in the migration of the Sandhill Cranes. We visited Whitewater Draw at sunrise and again at sunset. These large cranes fly in formation and seem to communicate instructions about where to take off and land. The birds actually wait on the ground as waves of birds fly in and land…all standing as at attention. They are also a noisy bunch too.

Take a look at the “By Way of the Brush” page to catch some of the paintings I was inspired to create from my visit to this water refuge for the Sandhill Cranes.