Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Sandhill Crane" Signed lower left. Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board.
Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood commemorative cover for Balke's Shorebirds of the 50 States, cancelled January 26, 1986.
Belonging to one of the most ancient families of birds, the magnificent Sandhill Crane is a long-legged, long-necked member of the Crane family. Covered with gray plumage, the Sandhill can be distinguished by its brilliant red bald forehead. Using its six to seven foot wingspan to fly at speeds in excess of thirty miles per hour, the Sandhill elegantly glides through the skies as it migrates, usually in flocks of more than one hundred birds. Upon arriving at the nesting site, the Cranes joyously greet one another, bounding six to eight feet in the air, wings half-spread, stiff-legged and uttering a loud garooo-a-a-a call. After performing the equally intricate mating dance, the male Sandhill builds a four foot nest using marsh plants, weeds, and roots on the shallow waters of ponds or on the ground in large marshes or grasslands. Then, incubation of the two olive, spotted lavender eggs begins. Within a month, the brown-headed young Sandhills hatch, and can swim almost immediately, but are capable of flight only after several months. Later, deliberately separated from their parents, the young Sandhills fly with the flock to the wintering sites. During the winter, the Cranes roost together at night, standing in flocks on low damp land or in shallow water. Then, they fly from their roosting place at dawn to the feeding grounds. Sandhills are also known as garoos, upland cranes, or blue cranes.
Image Size: 11 x 12.5 in.
Overall Size: 19 x 21 in.
Unframed.
(B10001)
Condition
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