Midwest Crane Count 2009
April 21, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
Saturday April 18th was the Midwest Crane Count 2009, an event sponsored by the International Crane Foundation. We were in our same spots as the last two years: part of our group at the Natural Land Institute‘s Nygren Wetlands and the part of us at a privately owned marsh.
Our objective was to count Sandhill Cranes [or rarely, Whooping Cranes]: those heard, seen, and especially those that are paired up. We determined this mostly by listening for their distinct unison calls or if lucky enough, by finding a nest or seeing a pair dancing.
In total we heard 32 Sandhills including seven pairs doing their unison call and one pair dancing. One crane flew out of the marsh roughly 40 feet from our hidden location. Perhaps the best part of the whole count is not so much seeing and hearing cranes, but sitting amongst the birds in the marsh well before dawn and listening to the birds wake up for the day.
It’s hard to beat multiple Sora’s calling only a few feet away!!
Check out last year’s crane count and 2007′s count.
31 Cool Bird Facts #24 – Sandhill Crane
October 24, 2008
Article in: Birding
The Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) is a marvelous majestic bird we always get excited about. Cranes are fun to watch, especially if you get a chance to watch them dance!
The “dance” of the Sandhill Crane is well known. Pairs engage in elaborate bowing displays with outstretched wings and leap high into the air. Often, a corncob or stick is picked up and thrown upward repeatedly. This behavior is believed to strengthen or establish new pair bonds. Although cranes generally “mate for life” (i.e. pairs remain faithful), they are hunted in several states and provinces, and if mates are lost, cranes will select another mate if necessary. Consequently, the Platte has been referred to as “the greatest singles bar for cranes” or “the melting pot of crane world”, since it provides the best opportunity to find a new mate as sub-populations from throughout the Northern Hemisphere commingle. – Nebraska Games and Parks Commission
Dancing Cranes by Dakota
Cranes mate for life and can live more than 20 years. There are six different subspecies of Sandhill Crane, three of which migrate:
- Grus canadensis canadensis (Lesser Sandhill)
- Grus canadensis tabida (Greater Sandhill)
- Grus canadensis rowani (Canadian Sandhill)
- Grus canadensis pratensis (Florida Sandhill)
- Grus canadensis pulla (Mississippi Sandhill)
- Grus canadensis nesiotes (Cuban Sandhill)
Sandhill Crane in Flight
August 14, 2008
Article in: Photography
This week’s Skywatch Friday submission is one of our favorite local birds, the Sandhill Crane.
2008 ICF Crane Count
April 19, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Today was the 2008 International Crane Foundation Crane Count and we were positioned in a wonderful location known as Moody Marsh. We began our count at 5:30 in the morning, a perfect time for birdsong, especially during migration.
Moody Marsh (taken with the video camera)
Our first birds were a group of Northern Shovelers that were not pleased to be disturbed and took off in annoyance. As we settled in for our two-hour count, we were delighted to hear Soras and American Bittern. Of course, we were supposed to be counting cranes and there were plenty to count!
Sandhill Cranes
The goal was to determine how many pairs of Sandhill Cranes were “unison” calling. We heard six pairs, a pretty good number for our area. In all, we saw or heard 40 cranes.
Sandhill Cranes
We spent the rest of the morning birding which we’ll talk about tomorrow!!
