Three baby Sandhill Cranes and a story of hope for Good Friday

LONGBOAT KEY -- It’s only natural that we are reminded of hope and sacrifice on Good Friday. Three baby Sandhill Cranes were rescued this week after their parents failed to take care of them, and though it may take up to a year to nurse them back to health and independence – there is hope for each.

This baby Sandhill Crane has her legs strapped together, so she can hold herself up and learn to walk.

Founder Lee Fox collapses on a bench outside her bird hospital at Save Our Seabirds on Thursday. SOS is a local nonprofit organization working with injured and disabled seabirds.

She is visibly exhausted, while deeply focused on a mental checklist she has created to do before driving an hour home. Fox slept one hour the night before, which isn’t unusual considering the increase of bird rescue calls they are now receiving.

The limited number of staff and volunteers are literally stretched to the point of breaking, yet it’s a job that never ends when one’s mission is of a higher call.

”The bigger one came in the night before last,“ Fox said.

She’s referring to the taller baby Sandhill Crane at their hospital.

”When she was found her legs were completely spread so far out that she couldn’t bring them back together to get up,“ she added. ”But when we got her in we were able to bring them together and strap them up. Now she can pull her legs together, and we saw her walking around in the bin.“

This few-week old would have died. Her weight was dangerously low from the parents not feeding her, a situation Fox stumbles upon ever so often and it’s heartbreaking.

”Nine times out of ten you will find birds and other species to be amazing parents,“ she said. ”But then you come across the first time parents, the new parents, who just don’t know what to do or just do nothing.“

Lee Fox said she is not giving up on this rescued adult Sandhill Crane, although she can't stand up yet and will have to for SOS to continue working with her. She was hit by a car, but determined to live.

The other two baby Sandhill Cranes were also rejected by their parents.

”Those two were in a ditch exposed to all the elements around them and their parents were off in a distance neglecting the babies,“ Fox said. ”That’s not normal behavior. So, my best rescuer waited, and when she picked both babies up the father just looked at her and flew away. It was as if he was relieved to not have to watch the babies die.“

Fox said if one of the parents had screamed and charged at the rescuer, she would have advised for the babies to be put back immediately. But that didn’t happen and even once they were brought into the hospital, it was discovered they had not been fed in days.

Lynn Zablo is the prized coastal bird rescue expert, who has even created ways to stand from the St. Pete Bridge Pier and rescue injured pelicans below in the water. But there isn’t enough money to bring her on board full-time to man the Tampa through Sarasota specialized rescues, so it pulls Fox and volunteers out of the facility constantly.

”It just feels impossible to get anything done sometimes,“ she said. ”This is why we need a few thousand dollars, a small grant, to get Lynn Zablo out there and ready to go between Tampa down to Bradenton for our constant rescues. It wouldn’t take very much, but the difference would mean everything.“

The three babies are in separate bins inside the hospital and have very limited exposure to the human helpers.

”We have to be so very careful not to imprint them over the next few weeks,“ she said. ”You saw how the female baby took a stance like Ôget away’ when we photographed her. That’s exactly what we want – for them to know they are birds.“

This is a baby Sandhill Crane who was rescued with the one to the right and was starving and left to die by its parents.	This is a baby Sandhill Crane who was rescued with the one to the left and was starving and left to die by its parents.

The process to now raise the three Sandhill Cranes is lengthy. In two months they will be introduced to a surrogate parent, who will first be hosted next to them and feeding close by. Next, the surrogate will enter the same space and begin to train the babies how to survive.

”They will actually talk to each other,“ she said. ”Some of them have really amazed me in the past.“

Within eight to ten months, there is a possibility, if they survive, they will be released with other Sandhill Cranes into the wild.

But Fox has learned not to get her hopes up. She said she quit trying to guess if one bird will make it over another. With humility and honesty, she tells the families that find the birds that she cannot guarantee their survival.

But she does look for the ”spunk“ in a bird that tells Fox this bird is not going out without a fight, and she does everything she can to fight with it.

”There’s hope for these little guys,“ Fox said.

She stops, looks towards the hospital, then back at the adult rehabbed Sandhill Cranes, some of which she will deliver back to the wild soon. The cycle of life is never ending.

”I couldn’t do what I do if I didn’t have hope,“ she said. ”If I gave up I would never have this organization. This concept took me 20 years to fight for – that’s a lot of tears and sleepless nights.

”But here we are.“

A message from Lee Fox:

If you know of any small local grants to help us fund a full-time coastal bird rescue team member, please help - we need it. Also, do not buy your child a real baby chicken or duck. Instead consider a stuffed version of the real thing. It is not humane to keep these creatures as pets.

Erica Newport is a daily reporter for The Bradenton Times. She covers art, culture and community. If you have a story that might interest Erica, please e-mail her using erica.newport@thebradentontimes.com address.  She also takes your questions related to our weekly theme days and provides advice and opinions for our readers.

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