Sandhill Cranes Sighting! (1 Viewer)

Hello Forum!
While out in my backyard this morning planting bulbs, I heard the
unmistakable sound of a crane flying over. I looked up and to my surprise, spotted 5 of them circling above my yard! They were climbing on a thermal and once they hit the height they wanted, they flew off. And fast! Within a minute, they were out of site. I managed to get one distance photo but all you can make out is the formation they were in... not much detail, they were too high by then.
Sure brightened up my day! This is becoming a fall tradition.

Great picture, they look like futuristic planes!

Great photo Tammie! Talking of planes, Andrew, I saw a great programme a while ago about teaching cranes (can't remember which species) to migrate back to Florida by following a microlight across the States. There was a website (which I had in favourites on my old hard drive and then lost when I changed it) which documented the project. Anybody else remember it and still have the website address? It was well worth a look.
james

Oh and one of the best bits was that all the project workers were dressed up as Cranes!

Saw that too, the dressed up folk looked like comical Ku Klux Klan members! It was great to see them suceed at the end!

I think they had not finished and were still going with new chicks the folllowing year?

Yes - it was an ongoing project and the website was like a diary with photos etc. I think one of the cranes was called Oscar or something like that...

They'd be Whooping Cranes I guess.

Spud

I think this is the programme you are referring too

http://fathergoose.durham.net/involved.html

I saw the documentary too and was impressed with the dedication, ingenuity and achievements of the people involved - long may they prosper

Try

www.operationmigration.org

to find out about each year's 'classes' of migrating Whooping Cranes.

Two classes of Whoopers have been 'led' by ultralight to Florida in hopes of reintroducing an Eastern population. They migrate with Sandhills, and pass right through Indiana, with stops at Jasper-Pulaski FWA in the NW, a stop in the central part of the state, and also Muscatatuck NWR in the south.

Of course, the stops are made in more or less remote areas, where humans of all kinds (except their costumed handlers) are kept away.

For the last two springs (2002 and 2003), most of the Whoopers who were escorted south then flew back north on their own, with Sandhills.

The numbers are VERY small; I believe in spring 2003 that there were 7 who migrated north on their own (with Sandhills).

I have seen photographs taken this year near Muscatatuck, where all 7 were on the ground at once, and ended up staying for 5-6 days because of the weather -- the website referred to it as being stuck in Windiana.

The website is very cool, and regular journal entries, with photos, are made during the flights south.

I had drinks with friends last night, and we were laying plans to visit Jasper-Pulask ourselves on Nov. 2, which is the height of the southerly migration Sandhill stopover. Although the numbers vary each year, it is possible to see as many as 20,000+ cranes there.