Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 12/02/2024

By Don Henise

Winter made its appearance this past week in southern Michigan. Mud Lake Marsh was almost completely frozen on this crisp, cold Monday night. We had a lot of cranes fly in at dusk, circle and not finding any suitable open water, head off to other locations. Only 75 cranes actually landed on the ice in Mud Lake to roost for the night. The number of other bird species detected was low, with only 16 total species counted. An adult female Northern Harrier entertained us for a bit as it worked close in the grassland below the observation hill.

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) (Don Henise)

This will be our final Monday night crane report for the season.

Total Cranes Roosting: 75

Counters: Ross Green, Don Henise, and Steve Jerant

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S204346247

 [Editor’s note:  Thanks to all our weekend greeters this season and especially warm thanks to our crane counters:  Don & Robyn Henise, Ross Green, and Gary Siegrist.]