The Common Crane

Today we were out on the High Coast, while our car was being repaired. Jan (HarlingDarling) has described the day very well in her blip so I won't repeat all that information.
As we were driving around we saw a lot of big migratory birds, recent arrivals from warmer climes.
This is one of a pair of common cranes (Grus grus) that were feeding off this little patch of ground in a sea of snow. Several small birds shared their food source.
However, looking at how thin the snow is, and how crystally it is, I don't think they will have to wait long for most of it to melt away so they seem to have timed it correctly!
The other larger migratory birds we saw were swans and Canada geese. Like the cranes they were usually gathered on a small patch of soggy ground, surrounded by snow, or in a small pool surrounded by ice.