Joe Rutkoski of Independence Township has seen many animals from his home in Independence Township, but he probably never expected to help corral a young sandhill crane back from the road on Tappon Drive.
Rutkoski and a neighbor rescued the bird from their road and herded the crane back to the nearby beach.
‘I saw it walking up the street and I said, ‘This is bad,?? Rutkoski said.
Rutkoski has lived in his home next to Greens Lake for 34 years and seen such suburban animals as foxes, deer and even a bear.
‘We’ve had it all, we’re like a nature center,? Rutkoski said.
There was a problem getting help for the apparently distressed bird. it took Rutkoski took nearly an hour on the phone with the Department of Natural Resources and the Humane Society. He was instructed how to help herd the crane back to the beach.
‘That was a frustrating experience trying to get someone to help me get this bird taken care of,? Rutkoski said.
Rutkoski said there is a family of four cranes that migrated to his neck the woods last year. Last summer, this crane was probably one of baby cranes featured in The Clarkston News.
He thinks the runaway crane is one of the children of the family and possibly was left behind because of an inability to fly with the flock.
The Humane Society later confirmed Rutkoski’s assumption.
The other members of the crane clan returned after being gone for nearly an hour. However, residents in that area have only seen three of the cranes flying together. Rutkoski said he has not seen the family in tact in the past week.
Rutkoski said he never saw sandhill cranes in his neighborhood until five years ago.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Web site says sandhill cranes eat insects, seeds and small rodents within grasslands.