I was driving on a very busy road in north Pinellas recently and saw a pair of sandhill cranes walking along the road. I had heard several times that sandhill cranes get hit by cars frequently on East Lake road. I always thought "What's going on up there?" Yes, cars drive fast along this road when traffic is not at a stand still. The sandhill cranes were walking really close to the road, almost looking like they would wander out in traffic. I drove past them and pulled into a parking lot. I got out and took a couple of pictures of them while I was standing just outside my car. I stayed pretty far away because I didn't want to spook them and have them start to fly out in traffic. These picture were taken at Keystone Road and East Lake Road. I know Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary has taken in several of these bird in the recent year trying to save them when they get hit. Signs should be put up to warn drivers - Beware of deer, bobcats, panthers, owls, cranes. In other words - Slow Down!
Nice -- you never know what you'll see when you're driving! Several roads down here have signs warning drivers about sandhill cranes. Believe it or not, though, it's not the cars that cause injuries here -- it's golf balls. Sandhill cranes like to hang out on golf courses and unfortunately they get hurt on the fairways.
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