The sound of sandhill cranes is unlike any bird sound I’d previously known. And ubiquitous enough in our little corner of the Wisconsin Northwoods that I got more than curious. I got focused. I needed help trusting that I was hearing birds in the marsh and not a distant construction site. A friend suggested this site, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. You can find audio loops of the various sounds a sandhill crane makes, making identification on-the-go possible.
Last fall, I heard their unmistakeable call overhead. Nov 21, to be exact, I was gardening and thought I was having a dissociative moment. I knelt in the dirt, turned off my podcast and waited. I heard them again. The sky is only available in tetris-shaped sizes where I live in the suburbs. With patience, though, I eventually saw dozens of birds overhead, trailing their honking sounds. Our little rectangle of land is under the migration path! I was flooded with the joys of the near-wilderness.
Spring is here in the organized and orderly way that suburban life offers. I’m thinking of the marsh waking up with all its sounds and smells. When I go outside, I keep one earbud dangling to see if I can bridge the distance between wild and tame.