This is bird note.

In some parts of North America, Sand Hill cranes are common as ants at a picnic.

The largest population breeds in Canada and Alaska.

Afterward, they gather in the thousands at southern wintering grounds like this flock in New Mexico.

In New England, Mexico.

In New England, on the other hand, they've been almost as rare as pterodactyls.

Until relatively recently, small numbers of sand Hill cranes now appear throughout the region.

At first, birders couldn't believe their eyes, but Sand Hill cranes are unmistakable.

They stand almost four feet tall, with a wingspan around six feet.

Their plumage is gray with a brilliant red forehead.

When a Sand Hill crane chick hatched in Maine in 2000, it was evident

the New England birds were not just strays. Cranes now breed in several parts of New England, especially Massachusetts.

It's one of several areas the Sand Hill cranes are recolonizing after losing most of their historic wetland habitats east of the Mississippi.

While many species are struggling, it's important to celebrate the successes too.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.

This episode is sponsored in Memorium of Alice Ashbaw, a lifelong bird watcher and amateur ornithologist.