Key Biscayne's Sandhill Cranes

One of the special places for me and other avian photographers in South Florida is Crandon Park, in Key Biscayne. Back when I was under five feet tall (a youngin), Crandon Park held the old Crandon Park Zoo. The zoo people built a better zoo without cages called Miami Metrozoo and left the southern area of Crandon Park abandoned.

Later in my high school years, Lot 2 at Crandon Park was the meeting point for all the high school kids to meet on weekends and on school days when we skipped school. (We only skipped school when we knew in advance that the day would be worthless....no tests and stuffs, only movies). Lot of memories there in my youth.

Hurricane Andrew re-landscaped the park and it has since been turned into a fantastic get away. On the north side you have some great nature trails. The beaches are great. There are picnic areas and playgrounds for the kids and families. And they even restored the old carousel that used to run there when I was a young boy. The old zoo grounds were re-landscaped into what is called Crandon Gardens. With bike and walking trails, plants and ponds, it is a great place to chill or to simply ride you bike. For those with a penchant for avian photography, it is a great place to get shots of exotic waterfowl, geese, hawks, osprey, peafowl, turkeys, guine hens, migrating songbirds, and the family of sandhill cranes that have lived there for several years. I remember the cranes as youngsters. The father crane was eaten by the american crocodile that made one of the ponds its home. The oldest crane then took it upon himself to help raise the other cranes. There are 5-6 cranes there and they've all learned to fly. They've made south Florida their home and have become my favorite photo subject at the park. Here is one of the sandhills who posed for me close to sunset.

Ciao infidels. Wear your seatbelts; don't drink and drive, and use a lot of sun screen if you're outdoors. Looks like rain here in the Magic City.