By Heather Lumpkin, Research and Monitoring Coordinator
In an essay in A Sand
County Almanac, Aldo Leopold wrote of a still morning on a marsh which
quickly became a cacophony of sounds:
“A pandemonium of trumpets, rattles, croaks, and cries almost shakes
the bog with its nearness, but without yet disclosing whence it comes. At last
a glint of sun reveals the approach of a great echelon of birds. On motionless
wing they emerge from the lifting mists, sweep a final arc of sky, and settle
in clangorous descending spirals to their feeding grounds. A new day has begun
on the crane marsh.”
In the 1930’s when Leopold was penning “Marshland Elegy”,
there was an estimated 25 nesting pairs of Sandhill Cranes in Wisconsin. Their numbers had been reduced greatly during
the 1800’s and early 1900’s by hunting pressures and wetland drainage. Today an estimated 72,000 Sandhill Cranes
live along the migratory path that runs from Wisconsin to the Southeast, making
the Sandhill Crane one of our most numerous crane species and an outstanding
example of species recovery.
“Map of Sandhill Crane range and migration
routes. Courtesy of the International
Crane Foundation”
On Saturday, April 18 thousands of citizen
scientists awoke during the early hours of the morning to travel in the dark to
wetland sites across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and
Indiana. They waited patiently as the
sun came up to hear the trumpets, rattles, croaks, and cries of Sandhill Cranes
as they greeted the morning. These
volunteers for the Annual Midwest Crane Count (https://www.savingcranes.org/annual-midwest-crane-count.html) play an indispensable role in helping to estimate the
Sandhill Crane population and documenting their recovery. Now they also count Whooping Cranes, a
federally endangered crane species that is slowly recovering thanks to hand
rearing and habitat protection.
For the last several years the North Lakeland Discovery Center
has assisted with these efforts by coordinating Crane Count volunteers in Vilas
County.
This year in Vilas County…..
-
29 citizen scientists participated
-
20 sites across Vilas County were surveyed
-
67 Sandhill Cranes were counted!
Crane counters also observed 47 other bird species during
the count including American Woodcocks doing their twittering, courtship flight
and Wison’s Snipe making their haunting, winnowing calls. But the experience goes far beyond the
numbers and species lists. As one volunteer
stated, “There's nothing quite like hearing cranes communicating in a marsh at
sunrise - beautiful and so peaceful. Also, being surrounded by all of the other
awakening animal's sights and sounds is an incredible experience.” Participating in the Annual Midwest Crane
Count is certainly an unforgettable and rewarding experience.
Watching the
landscape transition from night to day is exhilerating. Once you witness it
from nature's perspective, you'll want to experience it more often.
– Jeff Waite
Experience
Genesis… try 5:30 a.m. - live the experience.
– Wil Conway
At 5:30 am, I
may be cranky, but the cranes are dancing!
– Anonymous Vilas County
Crane Counter
Thank you to all of the
citizen scientists who made this day such a success!
“Sandhill
Crane in Powell Marsh. Photo by Azael
Meza.”
