Sandhill Crane: A Prehistoric Bird with an Iconic Call

The Sandhill Crane is an iconic species that was once on the brink of extinction. Learn all about their life history and hear their vocalizations in this all encompassing video.
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Thanks to Terry Sohl for allowing us to use his range maps
www.sdakotabir...
Sandhill Crane sitting on nest by Mike Budd/USFWS (PD)
Sandhill Crane eggs by Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife (PD)
Sandhill Cranes with 2 colts by USFWS/Clint Wirick (PD)
Video of Cranes in water with ducks by Bureau of Land Management California (PD)
Sandhill Cranes in flight by Grayson Smith/USFWS (PD)
Aldo and Estella Leopold image by Pacific Southwest Forest Service, USDA (CC by 2.0)
Whooping Crane with Sandhills by Lorie Shaull (CC by 2.0)
Sandhill Crane colt in mud by Susan Young (PD)
Video of migrating cranes by Karen and Brad Emerson (CC by 2.0)
creativecommon...
PD = Public domain (PD)
Sandhill in cover image by Judy Gallagher (CC by 2.0, edited)
Background of cover image by Karen and Brad Emerson (CC by 2.0, edited)
All other photos and videos by Derek and Ryan Sallmann
#Birding #BirdWatching #BadgerlandBirding

[@michaelhill9738]

There are some Sandhill cranes in New Jersey. The ones I've seen and photographed have been around for at least a few years. Beautiful birds.

[@MRichK]

Just saw a flock of many hundreds in Central Wisconsin last week. A sign of fall and winter at this time of year... but still awesome!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Awesome!

[@coldspring624]

I watch them in the fall gather and test the winds calls echoing in the sky. They rise and return to earth over and over and then suddenly as I watch they enter the clouds and all is silent. I silence I wait all winter to hear broken with their return in the spring. I really really enjoy these birds.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@coldspring624 very poetic! They are amazing!

[@michaelmcculley7880]

I love their calls!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

They’re so cool!

[@juanitakelly3082]

There is a huge festival every spring in Othello, Washington which is only about two hundred miles from where I live in western WA. I really would love to see that. A few have been spotted at our local refuge from time to time, probably on their way to the festival! Magnificent birds!

[@susanbrown4891]

Thanks for this great video. Enjoyed the article about Chris Crowe and Walnut. Fascinating and moving. Thank you for sharing it. 🕊

[@charmoo46962]

I seen a couple of them in the back field roaming around last week they have been coming here for the last three years they are fascinating to watch...

[@rogerashley8616]

I'm fortunate to live close to one of the largest wintering flocks in the Eastern United States here in Tennessee at the Hiwassee Refuge. We get thousands of them. They normally start showing up in mid November.

[@jtwanderer6328]

Was ~3:05 taken at Whitewater Draw, Arizona? I was there one January for the most awesome sight at noontime every day when thousands of Sandhill Cranes returned from the nearby mountains. Unforgettably wonderful! Thank you for another great video.

[@toddleech1055]

wonderful and very educational video.. Nice job guys.

[@timjozwiak2293]

I remember when they were a rare site! Now so many! Yet still so glad to hear and see

[@somsvid]

Thanks for a really good and informative video, really enjoyable! 😊 Have seen them in Canada on our various birding hols, and amazingly an adult here in the UK on Boyton Marshes, Suffolk, 04-Oct-2011.

[@christinewardgiordani5214]

I became enamored with Sandhills during the pandemic. I lived close to Staten Island and the Consumnes Preserve. They are magical birds and should NOT be hunted!

[@JacksonWilde-t7y]

Thank you guys SOOOOOO much for making some what Wisconsin based content again ❤

[@DustinHaning]

Hopefully the whooping cranes will have the same recovery success as the sandhill cranes did!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@DustinHaning fingers crossed 🤞

[@craigmitchell905]

yes yes I am a photographer in N.W. Washington an shoot them with my Canon, beautiful birds i love them thanks for the video

[@jamescady723]

Cool video! Many thanks learned some stuff.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@jamescady723 awesome! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@NathanWebb-c5h]

I thought I saw one during the spring in Nebraska.

[@GreatGray8790]

They have spread in to New York since the 80s. Nesting in small numbers in northern, western, and central New York. Very pretty.

[@Beryllahawk]

One of my big disappointments from my high school days is that I never ONCE saw or heard a Sandhill Crane, despite the fact that we lived practically next door to the refuge for them in Gautier MS. Not once! Obviously you can't just go wander into the refuge whenever you like, but the neighborhoods in the north part of Gautier are threaded through with bayous, SO much shallow water and reeds...and yet we never saw any kind of water bird. Some of that might've been people's dogs or maybe the water was unsuitable in some way, but still disappointing. Not even killdeer or ducks came to the water :( Thank you for explaining all this so well! I was wondering for a bit why they were so zealously protected here in MS when they're so common - especially with the range map - but you touched on exactly that and it makes a lot of sense. I can be OK with hunting for purposes of culling; a certain amount of predator pressure ends up being good overall for a given species, most especially since humans can be more discerning than a coyote or whatever. Those farmers though... I just wonder if there's a better way. The chemical might be very effective but - what else could work? Would startling the birds with trained dogs or hawks be any good, I wonder? Birds that big generally don't have a ton of natural predators (well, not that I've read about for North American birds so far). I know they use hawks and dogs both for wildlife "negotiations" in New Orleans (the airport does at least), so I'm wondering if similar tactics would help Wisconsin farmers. Obviously dogs would be much less costly than hiring a falconer in the spring though!

[@lisamcallister6534]

Nebraska was where I saw my first big flock.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

That’s a bucket list item for us! Was it super cool?

[@lisamcallister6534]

@@BadgerlandBirding Yes. We were visiting customers, we're from Maryland. I think the people knew what we would see. One of our best sightings...Grasonville Md. It was a dream, all kinds of birds. Maybe 100. A wildlife area I still visit.

[@khango6138]

I highly disagree with allowing hunting of cranes, their reproduction is much too slow to allow sustainable hunting.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@khango6138 we are not in favor of it either. I’m hoping Wisconsin doesn’t allow it. It’s been a topic of debate recently.

[@lindap9079]

I saw my 1st Sanhill Cranes at Reifel Wildlife Refuge in British Colombia. That was the only time I saw them not in flight.

[@jackpine1033]

I have observed SANDHILL CRANES grab small birds (chickadees) out of the air near my feeders. Noticed the bulge going down their gullet. My two have been returning for many years now.

[@ozzy66679]

I go and see them in December at Jasper, Pulaski county in Indiana when theres thousands of them in the field.

[@madd0von339]

I have a buddy in Wyoming that's been wanting to hunt sandhill crane ever since I first met him. He is however a very responsible hunter and recently he finally got one! I was very happy to see it, despite my reservations on actually killing the bird. What a gorgeous sight it was up close. He plans to use every part of the bird possible.

[@Beryllahawk]

Grats to him and REALLY glad to hear he's one of the good hunters.

[@jago76]

Do you know where the crane flocks shown at the 3 minute time were located? Somewhere in California i think.

[@rerolley]

It might be Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area in southeast Arizona a famous crane concentration area. Another possibility is Bosque de Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

That one I grabbed online and it didn't have a location listed but the one at 2:45 is from the Cosumnes River Preserve in California.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@rerolley It's possible!

[@filbilly]

@@BadgerlandBirding I thought it was Cosumnes River Preserve or Staten Island when I saw it, ha! Are you located in CA?

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@filbilly Wisconsin. Those two videos were from other folks since I haven’t been to see the big flocks yet myself but wanted the viewer to have the experience

[@woodsonjane]

I watch them flying and calling each year. They are very special large birds. Should ban hunting.

[@timenglert8998]

I have seen them in E. Oregon, magnificent animals. Maybe hunters should just hunt each other.

[@repetemyname842]

Ribeye of the Sky. Beautiful birds and tasty too.

[@SongbirdFPV]

Ribeye of the sky 😭😭

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Yeah 😬

[@SongbirdFPV]

i wish I could have a pet crane

[@MRichK]

Cranes can jab their beaks right through your hand. Not the most safe pet.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@MRichK I agree, haha

[@BadgerlandBirding]

There's actually an interesting article about a crane that became too attached to the person who raised it: kottke.org/21/10/the-crane-that-fell-in-love-with-her-human-keeper