TIL the sandhill cranes come through the Rio Grande bosque this time of year, and my backyard bird feeder got a lot more interesting

Gavin Kim · 2026-10-08T14:30:04.263842+00:00

So I was out raking leaves in my yard near the bosque last weekend when I heard this weird rattling sound overhead, and I looked up and there were like 40 huge birds circling. I genuinely thought they were geese at first but my neighbor Carol came out and told me they were sandhill cranes, and that they stop here on the way south every fall. I have lived in Albuquerque for 11 years and somehow never knew this was a thing. She said people drive down to the Socorro area for the festival but you can also just see them in the valley if you time it right. I stood there for 20 minutes watching them land in a field two streets over and I forgot I still had my rake in my hand. Now I want to know if anyone here has dealt with them getting into a garden. Do they mess with fruit trees or are they mostly just loud?

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TIL the sandhill cranes come through the Rio Grande bosque this time of year, and my backyard bird feeder got a lot more interesting | Albuquerque Homeowners - Discusd