Another Traveler

Along with the ducks and geese and cranes, a sweet little bird that is still flitting about my backyard will soon be heading south.  The slate-colored subspecies of the Dark-eyed Junco spend  their winters in the Eastern part of the US, but they fly north to nest in Canada and Alaska.  Their departure won't be dramatic like the cranes' huge spiraling ascent or the V-shaped formation of the geese.  I will just notice their absence, and know another sign of the approaching winter is here. 



Cranes at the Barns

I've been at Creamer's Field several times this last week, and I've taken a few photos of the barns.

For now, though, most of my attention has been on the fields and on the sky, and all the action going on.





In a very short time all of the migrating birds will be gone, and then the barns will once again come into focus.

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In the meantime, check out Tricia's Barn Charm.





The Surprise

As evening is approaching the barley field is a perfect hangout for a number of Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese.  They are visiting with friends and snacking.

Suddenly from out of the tall stalks of barley there is an explosion of wings.

An unknown signal had been given for a change of position and there is a frenzy of movement.

The field that had seemed to be inhabited by only Cranes and Geese is full of Mallards who had been feeding undetected in the tall stalks.

The larger birds somehow manage to keep out of the way of the small fast-moving projectiles.

In very sort order some of the Ducks glide back and settle again to the ground to be obscured by the tall stalks.

There are a few ruffled feathers.....

.....but soon order is restored and the Cranes and Geese settle back to their evening snack.

The Search is On

Fan out and don't let anything escape.

Searching....



Searching.....

Got it!



Searching.....

Cranes, Cranes, and more Cranes

Today's Sandhill Crane count at Creamer's Field was over 2500.  Add to that 1400 Canada Geese, 350 ducks, and 12 White-fronted Geese and you have a lot of activity going on.  The fields are large, and every area I went to had Cranes.  I do like seeing them in the barley fields, with their long necks popping up all around. 

At one point several hundred moved from the back fields to the front field.  The photo below shows only a portion that were in the air at one time.  There were at least three waves and they were all talking at once.  It was quite noisy!

A Walk Around the Barns

Thursday I went to Creamer's Field again.  I almost always stop at the front viewing area first.  That's the most popular place to visit because it's a turnout off of one of our main streets.  There were quite a few Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese, and of course the view you most often see of the old Creamer's Dairy barns.

I wanted to walk back to the fields behind the barns to see if there were Cranes hanging out there, so I drove back and parked next to the barns.  The second farmhouse, which is no longer standing, was in approximately the location that this shot was taken from.  The trail to the back fields takes off from here.

Along the way there I saw more Cranes, but I walked until I came to an area where Cranes tend to congregate.  It's a good location to catch the Cranes in flight as they fly right over the trail towards the front field.  It also gives a great view of the barns from the East side.

I did get some nice flight shots of the Cranes.  I posted some of those last week, and you can see those by clicking HERE.  After spending a bit of time there, I headed back and took a detour to the Boreal Forest Trail that edges the main field.  That provided a view of the back of the barns.  To the left is the smaller of the two Iowa-type barns with the original barn in front of it.  To the right is the larger of the Iowa-type barns, which is 110 feet long and 36 feet wide.

Then I cut over to the Western viewing fields and got a view of the barns from the West side.  First you see the oldest barn.  A log barn was built in the early 1900s and the barn was doubled in size around 1928.

You get a good view of the largest of the barns.  It was built in 1938.  Off to the right you see the main farmhouse.  Not far to go to milk the cows on a cold winter's day!

This is one of my favorite views of the large barn.  It just seems to have a lot of personality.

Then I went around the barn and back to the front of the farmhouse.  The farmhouse serves as the Visitor's Center for Creamer's Field.

I have posted lots of photos of the barns and around the fields, and you can find them in the Labels section of my sidebar under Creamer's Field and Creamer's Dairy Barns.  I'll be posting more photos of the fields and the birds this week.  You can also see more old barns from around the world at Tricia's Barn Charm by clicking on the photo below.

White-fronted Geese at Creamer's Field

White-fronted Geese are among the birds that are stopping at Creamer's Field on their way south.

The picture above was taken on Thursday and the one below on Monday.  I have a feeling that I might not see any more of these guys until next spring.

I first saw them at Creamer's on the 9th, but they were out in the field a ways.  You can pick them out by their bright orange beaks and legs.  Enlarge the photo to get a better view.

In the fall you usually won't see them up close.  They really are quite a beautifully marked goose as you can see in the photo below.  I took that photo on April 25th when they were on their way north.  In the spring there are lots of ponds in the fields from the snow melt and the birds are closer to the fences enjoying all that water and allowing us to get easier close-ups of them.

I posted about them in April and you can read that post by clicking HERE.

Cranes in Flight

I was at Creamer's Field again today.  More and more birds are showing up.  The first Sandhill Cranes that show up at the field are the adult cranes that didn't breed this year.  Now the parent Cranes are showing up with one or two young, which are called colts.


The adult cranes are gray, but they have some brown plumage, and if they have been in the mud can look very rusty colored.  They have yellow-orange eyes, white cheeks, and a red skin cap.

The colts have chestnut plumage and their eyes are brown.  Their beak is a flesh color and they have gray cheeks.  The tops of their heads are a rusty brown.  They are the same size as the adults.

The young have a peeping little voice which is mostly drowned out by the trumpeting call of the adults.

Can you pick out the colt in the photo above and the one below?  There are probably 1,000 Cranes at Creamer's right now.  There are many different areas where they congregate, and there is much movement back and forth.

I took lots of photos again today, and I'll be drawn back to Creamer's many times in the next few weeks to take many many more photos not only of the Cranes, but the other birds that are gathering at Creamer's Field.  The barns and the fields also offer many beautiful sights.

Barn Cupolas

Carole at Noteworthy Musings posted a barn on Barn Charm that is built in the same style as the Creamer's Dairy Barns.  Creamer's barns were built by the Louden Machinery Company of Iowa.  The cupolas were patented by the Louden Machinery Company.  I took the photo below on August 31, 2010.  You can see the cupolas are a popular hangout spot.

Carole was only able to make out a few letters in the photo of the cupola of her barn, but some photos I took last month clearly show the Louden name on the cupolas of the Creamer's barn, complete with the patent information.

Here's a closer view of the cupola.  The cupola was designed to pull the bad air out of the barn and not allow the wind to blow into them.  The metal cupolas were a very modern invention in the early 1900s.

The Louden Machinery Company was founded in 1867 in Fairfield, Iowa, and sold all kinds of farm equipment.  Their architects designed plans for cow and horse barns, hog barns, and chicken coops.  They sold the plans and whatever farm equipment you might need through their catalogs.  You can see more old barns at Barn Charm, hosted by Tricia.

Barns and Migration

After several cloudy and rainy days we finally had a sunny day today.  It was a good day to take some photos at Creamer's Field.  We walked along the trail to the back fields and coming back I took some shots of the smaller of the old dairy barns.





The barns are always photogenic but more so on a sunny day. 



I like all the architectural details, whether up close....

.....or at a distance.  But even the beautiful barns can't compare with what is happening right now in the fields all around the barns.  More and more birds are arriving every day and staging at the fields for their long flight south.   

In the foreground in the photo above are Sandhill Cranes, Canada Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, and Mallards.  During the fall migration the Cranes are what really grab your attention.

I like watching them walking around the field....

....or flying around the field.  But that's a post for another day.  Over the next few weeks you'll probably get very tired of seeing photos from Creamer's Field.  I can't seem to stay away during migration time.....

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Click on the barn below to check out more old barns at Tricia's Barn Charm.