If you’ve never heard of sandhill cranes, let me introduce you to one of nature’s coolest birds.
Sandhill cranes are a large breed of bird that live around marshes, strut around on two legs, and chow down on a wide variety of foods from water plants to berries to rodents and even other birds.
Not to mention they taste great. Dubbed the “ribeye of the sky,” their meat is more like eating a steak than it is chicken or duck.
They also have one of the absolute coolest calls of all-time. It’s deep, throaty, and honestly, pretty dinosaur like…
Take a listen here.
The first time I heard these guys calling down in Tampa I about had a heart attack.
During winter, they have large populations in the South, like Florida and Texas, but migrate way up to Northern Canada for breeding season.
An incredibly majestic bird that is also not afraid of a challenge.
It’s no secret alligators run the swamps of Florida, but even they tend to back down from the mighty sandhill crane.
Don’t believe me? Check out this video of three cranes sending a gator running back to the water after it started wandering toward the street.
Honestly, I have no idea why they decided to do this, but it worked out well for a biker who just so happened to be coming down the street as the gator was walking up.
The birds circled him, opened up their wings, and turned the gator around quickly.
Of course, if push came to shove I’d put my money on the gator, but it’s better to not risk it when you got three creatures wilding out to intimidate you.
Put some respect on the sandhill crane’s name.
