PULASKI COUNTY, Ind. -- As temperatures get warmer, Sandhill cranes migrate north for the spring; and Pulaski County is one of the places they gather. Nick Echterling, Property Manager at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area Park, says while the cranes migrate to Indiana, it’s just a pitstop.
“We do have a few nests here in the spring, but most of these birds are just stopping here and they're going to go farther north.”
Echterling continues saying cranes continue to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and even southern Canada. Despite lower numbers in spring, Sandhill cranes still visit the reserve and surrounding fields.
The park has built a special viewing tower for visitors to gather and watch the birds. There is a spotting scope on the tower, allowing visitors to see the bright red patch on their foreheads and to see their true size. Crane spotting can be hard to come by in the spring, but after a little searching, visitors can spot them.
Weather and climate help determine where the cranes land, feed and roost. Rainy weather is ideal for crane roosting as it “would fill up their roosting areas,” Echterling states.
Sandhill cranes thrive in marshy wetlands. However, climate change continues to pose a threat to crane migration. As drought becomes more frequent, drying wetlands limit food and rooting opportunities.
Mild winters are also impacting crane migration as well. Warmer than average winters have not affected overall numbers, Echterling says, but they have actually shifted peak season. In the past, peak season for Sandhill cranes was in October; and now in recent years, it has shifted to November!
In some areas, sandhill cranes stay in northern areas through the winter, instead of migrating back south! For instance, Echterling says that many cranes stay by the power plant in Wheatfield near its warm water discharge.
“There's a few thousand cranes that'll stay here all winter now, because they'll have open water there,’ Etcherling explains. “They can still get out and dig through the snow and find food.”