Sandhill Cranes, a success story for an impressive bird

  • By Bruce Glick
  • November 13, 2013
  • 438
                        
Sandhill Cranes, a success story for an impressive bird There are some birds that are able to fascinate almost everyone. The Sandhill Crane is such a bird. I've often received phone calls from folks who start out by saying, "I'm not a birder, but I saw this amazing bird - it was huge". Size is certainly something that helps make an impression, but it's more than that. Watching them soar through the air or gently glide down to a landing is memorable. Then there is the sound of the birds calling overhead. I love the sound of "crane music". Residents in the Wayne/Holmes area are fortunate to have Sandhill Cranes nesting close by. That certainly isn't the case for most of the rest of Ohio, however, numbers have been increasing. The Funk Bottoms and Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Areas provide ideal habitat for the big cranes and they have responded by successfully nesting in both places in recent years. Several other nests have been located along the Killbuck Creek to the south toward Millersburg and beyond. Long ago, when I was in college and in subsequent years in Goshen, Indiana, we used to make a trip once or twice a year to see migrating Sandhill Cranes at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area. Located in western Indiana, this area has been a traditional stop-over for large numbers of Sandhills, both in the fall and in the spring. Jasper-Pulaski includes more than 8,000 acres and has been in existence for over 80 years. The cranes are present at Jasper-Pulaski through October and November, with the peak numbers usually around mid-November. A group of us from Goshen made the trip on November 10, Sunday afternoon. There were probably 75-100 people there to see the cranes fly in from the fields where they feed during the day. It was quite a show! For at least an hour there were 10-30 groups of Sandhills in air, soaring around and then coming in for a landing in the large open field to the west of the large observation deck that has been built for observers. On the ground, some of the cranes were "dancing", behavior that I associate with the spring nesting season. The sound of the birds was amazing, with some flying right overhead and others coming in from all directions. A number of the people present that evening were experiencing the cranes for the first time and it seemed that everyone really enjoyed the evening, almost forgetting that it was getting cold as the sun went down. People of all ages were there, and I remember thinking how lucky we are to be able to see, hear and enjoy Sandhill Cranes in Ohio and Indiana. Good birding! Bruce Glick birdebruce@yahoo.com 330-317-7798


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