Sandhill Crane
Antigone Canadensis

By Rajiv Jauhari
Featured photo by Pamella Hopper

Ten of the fifteen species of cranes in the world are classified as threatened, but thankfully, the Sandhill Crane is not. The current population of Sandhill Cranes is estimated at more than 800,000. At Sandhill Crane Finder  you can view their distribution across North America in each month of the year and find out whether and where they have recently been reported in your vicinity.  On February 14, 2024, 38,000 cranes were recorded by wildlife biologists using their first aerial survey of the year in Nebraska, which is a record since such surveys began in 1998. However, an increase in Nebraska survey counts is not necessarily an indication of an increase in overall population, as such increases tend to occur when winters are warmer.

Sandhill Cranes are tall and elegant birds, with gray or rust-colored plumage, a red crown (on all but first-year birds), and long legs, necks and bills. While males are usually larger than females, their plumages are very similar. They breed in open freshwater wetlands and shallow marshes but can use a broad range of habitats during the year including bogs, sedge meadows, fens, open grasslands, pine savannahs and agricultural fields where they feed on cultivated grains.

Photo by Rolland Swain/Audubon Photography Awards, downloaded from audubon.netx.net

Sandhill Cranes are monogamous, often with long-term pair bonding. These birds are well known for their courtship displays and elaborate dances. I found the names given to the dance moves by ornithologists quite entertaining. Dancing by males is often preceded by a move called an Upright Wing Stretch and Horizontal Head Pump, followed by one or more Vertical Tosses. Once a male has attracted the attention of a female, the dance begins with a Low Bow by both sexes. The male then throws back his head, repeats a Horizontal Head Pump, and gives a deep call. The female responds by orienting her head backward about 45 degrees and emitting a higher-pitched call. Next, first the male and then the female leaps many times (Vertical Leaps) while running and flapping their wings. This seems a tad exhausting, but clearly it seems to be working. Even the number of different kinds of vocalizations they can make (they have special adaptations for some of these) is impressive: trills, peeps, yelps, purrs (including Flight Intention purrs, Feeding purrs, Growl purrs, Nesting Call purrs and Flight purrs), rattles, snores, moans, and honks. These are seriously skilled birds.

Photo by Virgina Short/Audubon Photography Awards, downloaded from audubon.netx.net

There are six sub-species, and nine population groups are currently recognized. These include three non-migrating populations (Cuba, Florida, and Mississippi) and six migratory populations (Eastern Flyway, Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountain, Lower Colorado River, Central Valley, and Pacific Flyway). The breeding range of the migratory populations extends from the Great Lakes to Alaska and parts of Siberia. Some of the cranes spend winters in Texas and other southern states including Arizona and New Mexico. There are several places where tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes congregate reliably, such as Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico and the central Platte River Valley in Nebraska. If you can manage to be there at the right time, watching thousands of cranes take off or land near-simultaneously (and often very loudly) at these places is a not-to-be-missed avian phenomenon.

References:
https://birdsoftheworld.org
http://allaboutbirds.org
http://savingcranes.org
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/38000-sandhill-cranes-flock-to-nebraska-in-a-record-breaking-start-to-spring-migration-180983833/