This large wading bird was well camouflaged in what we assumed was an active nest near to a public viewing platform (top) Its plumage is heavily stained brown from soil or iron oxide. Notice that stained feathers occur only below mid-neck in areas the bird can reach while preening. Sandhill Cranes are famous for their wild vocalizations created in part by their long trachea which coils inside a hollow breast bone. Once heard it is unforgettable, but hard to describe. I liken it to a frog playing a trumpet. Birds breeding in Alaska and parts of the Russian Far-East are the smaller nominate race sometimes called Lesser Sandhill Crane. Digiscoped with Panasonic DMC-LX5 | Nikon FS 3 | 30XWA | hand-held, no adapter.
References:
Archibald, G.W. & Meine, C.D. (2017). Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/53556 on 16 July 2017).
Gerber, Brian D., James F. Dwyer, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Rod C. Drewien, Carol D. Littlefield, T. C. Tacha and P. A. Vohs.(2014).Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis), The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/sancra