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IDAHOFALLSMAGAZINE.COM 15 10 Tags: A person, place or thing in 10 hashtags STEVESMEDEPHOTO #cranes Greater sandhill cranes weigh around 10 pounds and stand about 7 feet tall. Their gray feathers are sometimes streaked with orange, which is rust leech- ing from minerals in the mud they preen into their feathers. #call Sandhills have a trachea that's coiled like a slinky. The design pushes the vol- ume of their ancient, dinosaur-like ruckus for miles. #duo Watch a pair of cranes call. The female calls with her head at an angle. The male's head and beak aim straight up to the sky. #tailfeathers All leg, no tail. Cranes have nothing like a peacock fan, just a clump of short wings bustled in the back. #redspot The red patch on the top of a crane's head is actually skin, not feathers. If it's puffed up, the bird is in an aggressive mood. #eggs Adults purr to their eggs to encourage hatch. Crane chicks, called colts, are little puffs of orange-reddish fuzz that grow an inch a day. #fly Sandhill cranes fly using a unique wing pattern. The upbeat is quick. The downbeat is slow. #migration Cranes can travel 500 miles a day dur- ing fall migration. Their final destination is Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. The trip south takes about a week. #grain Specific plots of grain aren't harvested in Teton Valley. They detract cranes from eating other crops in fields that are in harvest mode. #tetonvalley Teton Valley is the largest staging area for greater sandhill cranes in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It's where thou- sands of birds meet up with extended fam- ily in preparation for fall migration. They feast on grain during the day and roost in wetlands at night. Outdoor journalist Kris Millgate is based in Idaho Falls where she runs trail and chases trout. Sometimes she even catches them when she doesn't have a camera, or a kid, on her back. Her first book 'My Place Among Men' is available now. See more of her work at www. tightlinemedia.com IF