Disaster Before 2012

Who's making that sound? Is that someone in drunken discomfort outside my window or the odd yelping of a lonely but penned up dog. Uncertain of it's source or direction I opened the patio door to seek more clues. Louder but not human, sharper but not canine, though it echoed from above. As moonlight was nowhere to be found, my eyes focused toward the approaching noise. Auwmph, paumph, waumph, waump, haump .... honk. Yes, Definitely a honk. Certainly it is a flock of Canadian Geese (since I'm 1/2 mile from the Sacramento river) which is a normal. Being almost midnight it was surely a flock of alcoholic Canadian Geese on their way to their Canadian Club. But pulling the skins over my eardrums taut I knew it wasn't geese, Canadian or otherwise. Scanning the horizon I made out the outline of the towering redwoods and between the bare branches of the surrounding deciduous trees and there was the massive sky herd. A flock of at least 50-60 long necked white cranes/egrets (whatever). I've seen them along the river and through the delta all my life but I've got to say, NEVER have I seen a flock of this many. I couldn't help but be reminded of disaster movies when herds of animals and flocks of birds are shown rushing away from the approaching threat. Was it an approaching storm, an explosion, a fire or just another Will Smith movie? I turned on the news to see if there were any announcements I should be aware of, but nothing but another Peanut Butter scare report on CNN. I might be in the central great valley but tsunamis can certainly pour through from the Bay Area and up into the delta. If I post again, you will know that the asteroid missed my house and Bruce Willis saved the day.