At 6 PM a parent and the chicks are back on the nest, settled down once and up again. The other parent has just arrived [left] and the on-nest parent is giving its greeting in unison. This is described as “…performed with the birds standing close to each other and in a synchronized duet, … a way of reinforcing the pair bond…”*

This family works hard. Up at dawn they walk, dig and eat all day. The chicks follow at the parents’ feet, raising their little wing stubs as they run, presumably for balance. This routine is interrupted by short periods of rest down in the grass. They start out between 5 and 6 AM and return to the hatch-nest to sleep by 6 PM.

The second chick hatched on the 19 th of March. They are doubled in size at 11-13 days old.

*The International Crane Foundation webpage: http://www.savingcranes.org/species/sandhill.asp