Greetings Mastodon! As an introduction, I'm a Naturalist, Conservationist, Birder, Photographer, Audiophile, & Videophile living in an energy efficient, net positive, solar powered home in the Sonoran Desert.
Oh, WOW, a lifer!--it's a pterosaur, perhaps a Pterodactylus antiquus?...um, wait, sorry, it's just a common Ardea herodias (great blue heron), rats!
I have to say, when I see them flying from a distance it's the first thing I think of: that's probably what a pterosaur looked like in the air. Sandhill cranes make me think that as well. (Photo: Lake Park, Reno, Nevada, 2020.)