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-       - A SULPHUR SPRINGS VALLEY -- cont.
 

SANDHILL CRANES NEAR WILLCOX, IN  THE SULPHUR SPRINGS VALLEY   .

     Every year, imposing Sandhill Cranes winter in the Sulphur Springs Valley, arriving here in sky-filling
flocks that number in the tens of thousands.  The air is filled with their manic, geese-like honking as they
cluster in smaller groups, usually numbering a hundred or more, and look for food and shelter.

     South of the town of Willcox sprawls a flat playa that in times of moisture becomes a good sized lake.
These birds favor water when they can find it, and they often make the playa the center of their winter time
visit.  It is not uncommon to find other similar species amongst the cranes, including blue herons and egrets.
The coming of the cranes has become a virtual tourist industry.

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