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• Man wanted in Acampo homicide gives up to San Joaquin County Sheriff's detectives

• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy

• Your complete guide to Sandhill Crane Festival

• Paul Tebbel shines spotlight on sandhill cranes

• Weekend bus service to continue until Lodi City Council makes decision

• California voters have final say over $11 billion water bond

• Regional Roundup

• Armed robbers still targeting Lodi shops

• Speakers address Lodi Unified School District budget shortfalls, plea to keep programs

• San Joaquin County considers moratorium on new Williamson Act contracts

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Paul Tebbel shines spotlight on sandhill cranes

Paul Tebbel will be the featured speaker Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Sunday during the Sandhill Crane Festival at Hutchins Street Square. He is the executive director of Friends of the River in Sacramento.

Prior to that, Tebbel managed National Audubon's 1,400-acre Rowe Sanctuary on the Platte River in Nebraska for 11 years. He has a bachelor's of science in biology from Northern Michigan University and a master's of science in zoology from the University of Western Ontario. He wrote about Sandhill Cranes for his thesis.

Q: What is unique about sandhill cranes?

A: What is most unique is that they are in this area. They are very vocal and they like to be around others. They exhibit behaviors that are remarkably similar to humans. I like to say they are like humans with wings. The family units can stay together for a decade or longer, and they will raise one to two young.

They protect their young at an incredibly high level for birds. They stay with their young for almost a year. Compared to other birds, that is unusual. Robins will feed their young and teach them to fly and then they are on their own.

Q: Any interesting traits or habits?

A: They will get together in big units and communicate with each other. There is a lot of interaction between them. The behavior is what makes cranes so unique.

They dance, which is highly unusual in the bird world when it is not mating season. They breed in the spring, but the dancing now could just be about reaffirming their bond with their mate. I can't explain it fully, but I guess they are just happy because life is good and they want to dance.

Q: Are they aggressive?

A: They are highly territorial. They have their space and they will exhibit aggression if they feel another crane that isn't in their family is getting to close. But they also will argue amongst members of their family. They are like humans.

Q: What do they eat?

A: They are attracted to flooded fields because it's easy for them to probe through and food floats to the surface. They eat plant matter, grains, worms and bugs.

Q: Why do they migrate to the Delta?

A: They are highly-traditional animals. They have learned behavior from their parents. They selected the Delta long before humans inhabited it for the quality of food. They also like the Delta because it offers protection. Unlike egrets and blue herons, they can't roost in trees. They don't have the foot anatomy to grip branches.

So they must look for other areas for protection when they want to rest. They like the Delta because it offers shallow water that they can wade in and fall asleep. If a predator comes near, they can hear them splashing and move.

Q: What do they look like?

A: They are not what I would consider pretty birds. They look very primitive. Their heads are similar to vultures or California Condors. They are between three and four feet tall, and they have a wingspan of six feet. They weigh between 12 and 14 pounds. They are lean and mean. They are tough birds.

Q: Are they hunted or are they protected?

A: They are hunted in the Central United States and in Canada. It's illegal to hunt them in California. They are not considered threatened in the United States, but they are in California.

Since they eat a lot of grains the meat is considered to be good. However, they are difficult to hunt. I'd estimate that of a population of 1.3 million, between 30,000 and 50,000 are hunted. It's a fairly low number by most hunting limit standards. They are hard to hunt and it is a lot of work for not much meat.

They are more threatened by diminishing wetlands and habitats. The Consumnes River Preserve is a good place, but it is too small for them. Who knows what will happen to the Delta.

Q: What is most rewarding for you?

A: I enjoy going out with people who have never watched the birds before and see them start to understand their tendencies and behaviors. When they can grasp their behaviors and expect what they are going to do and I see the light go on in their heads, that is rewarding.

Contact reporter Jordan Guinn at jordang@lodinews.com.