An overnight snowfall covered the farm fields and the food sources of the migrating sandhill cranes. Following a week of unusually warm weather, this snow was a surprise for all, but these cranes seemed to take things in stride.
The huge annual migration of thousands of sandhill cranes passes through this area each Spring, and is only a week or two away, but there are always early birds. I've seen these early flocks spending the night on frozen lakes, and thousands more in nearby farm fields. South of this location, in the Jasper-Pulaski wildlife Area, people wait for the migration to begin. This area is a stopping point for over 30,000 cranes, and offers some excellent viewing of the birds as they land in the evening and take off in the morning.
Sandhill cranes are large birds, standing three to four feet tall, with wingspans of up to five feet, and their rituals of jumping and dancing are fun to watch. They're often seen flying very high in the sky in large V formations, and generally can be heard before being seen. Their unique trumpeting sounds can help you spot them high above urban areas and rural areas alike. There is a migration in fall and spring, but the spring migration seems to have a larger concentration of birds excited to fly north to their summer feeding grounds.
The huge annual migration of thousands of sandhill cranes passes through this area each Spring, and is only a week or two away, but there are always early birds. I've seen these early flocks spending the night on frozen lakes, and thousands more in nearby farm fields. South of this location, in the Jasper-Pulaski wildlife Area, people wait for the migration to begin. This area is a stopping point for over 30,000 cranes, and offers some excellent viewing of the birds as they land in the evening and take off in the morning.
Sandhill cranes are large birds, standing three to four feet tall, with wingspans of up to five feet, and their rituals of jumping and dancing are fun to watch. They're often seen flying very high in the sky in large V formations, and generally can be heard before being seen. Their unique trumpeting sounds can help you spot them high above urban areas and rural areas alike. There is a migration in fall and spring, but the spring migration seems to have a larger concentration of birds excited to fly north to their summer feeding grounds.
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