A Honk Worth Your Attention

It was December 3rd of this year (2023) that I got the email. 

Subject: Sandhill Cranes over Druid Hills

Body: Just saw 3 Vs of Sandhill Cranes flying over Druid Hills in DeKalb County. About 40 to 50 total. 

That’s just north of me, I thought. I looked at the time stamp - “sent two minutes ago.” 

There are several things to know about Sandhill Cranes. 

First, they are big. On average, they stand just around four feet tall and have a wingspan of over six and a half feet. They can weigh up to 10 pounds, which in the bird world is chunky. 

On the East Coast, they will typically winter in South Georgia and Florida before migrating to the Great Plains for the summer. They are high flyers—they’ve been recorded at elevations as high as 13,000 feet! 

They tend to follow I-75 up and down the coast. That means that Atlanta is a major flyover (and occasionally resting point) for hundreds, if not thousands, of Sandhill Cranes each spring and fall. 

Finally, they are loud and, sorry, inelegant in their calls. I mean, it’s a honk, ok. Like, a loud and trilling honk that carries across the open spaces where they tend to hang out. Once you’ve heard it, you won’t often mistake it for anything else. 

I’m outside within 30-40 seconds of receiving the email. It’s crisp in a Georiga way and a clear sky. I wait and listen. 

There’s the sound of the usual traffic—the soft swish of car tires, the rumpleclank of a FedEx truck taking the speed bump too fast. A siren wails its approach and then fades again. 

And then, soft at first, a honk. And another. And another. And finally there they are. A large V spread out against the grayblue winter sky, honking back and forth as they glide overhead. 

They are too high up to see much detail and only stay in my field of vision briefly, but there is no mistaking that sound and that size. 

I wish them well on their journey, glad to have witnessed even such a small part of it.