How a goose became part of a sandhill crane family
A remarkably rare adoption on a Minnesota lake inspired a children’s book about belonging, family and acceptance
The Minneapolis Star Tribune
by Val Cunningham, June 18, 2026
Martha Harding and Gary Noren were looking out a window in their lakeside home several years ago when two adult sandhill cranes stalked into view, followed by two youngsters. Something seemed odd about one of them — as Harding says, “I wondered if it was sick.”
As it turned out, the young bird wasn’t sick — it just wasn’t a crane.
Instead, it was a young Canada goose with three sandhills. The four birds spent the summer together on the lakeshore, delighting Harding and Noren and their neighbors. They named the goose Fam. This mingling of species is so rare there are just a few other documented cases of sandhills raising a gosling.
That first summer, and in the years that followed, the crane/goose family inspired Noren, a photographer, and Harding, a writer, to collaborate on a children’s book. “Fam: The Remarkable Story of a Canada Goose Adopted by Sandhill Cranes” was published last year by Beaver’s Pond Press.
Harding and Noren recently sat down for an interview to discuss the story, which begins in the summer of 2022 on the shores of Green Lake in Chisago County.
Q: How do you think this unlikely family come about?
A: We think that a female goose prepared a nest on the lakeshore and laid one egg, but then was chased off by a pair of sandhills who wanted that site. The female crane laid her own egg in the goose’s nest and both cranes took turns incubating the two eggs. When two youngsters broke out of their eggshells, the parent cranes accepted both as their hatchlings.
Q: You both obviously kept a very firm eye on the gosling and his crane sibling as the story unfolded.
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Photographer and writer share true story of a Canada goose adopted by sandhill cranes
A goose raised by cranes is at the root of a new book for children about love, acceptance, and belonging.
St. Croix 360
by Kate Seitz, August 14, 2025
When an unusual avian family showed up in their Green Lake neighborhood, writer Martha Harding and photographer Gary Noren decided to celebrate the family rather than focus on their differences. What they witnessed over several seasons is the subject…
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Local couple to celebrate book release
A goose raised by cranes is at the root of a new book for children about love, acceptance, and belonging.
Chisago County Press
by Denise Martin, June 17, 2026
There’s so much more to this story than just an announcement of a local book launch party; although props are due as it’s no simple feat to make a book.
Fam: The remarkable story of a Canada Goose adopted by Sandhill Cranes, is the product of Gary Noren and Martha Harding who put their energies as writer and photographer to create a book, even though as retired citizens they could have easily filled their free time with volunteering pursuits.
Both are grounded in the natural world and this common passion keeps them tuned into goings-on that alot of humans may overlook. Their observations and…
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