Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 09/28/2026 by Don Henise

So far this fall, Sandhill Cranes have not begun to stage at the Haehnle Sanctuary. In fact, for our third weekly count, numbers took a step backward as we only recorded 3 Sandhill Cranes remaining to roost in the marsh. Fall sparrows made their debut for the season with a few Lincoln's and White-crowned Sparrows appearing near the observation hill. A couple of Great Egrets were observed out in the marsh during the evening, but as the sun was going down, a flock of 13 came in overhead from the southwest and continued over the sanctuary. As they were passing over, a Great Horned Owl called out several times from across the marsh. See the checklist for a list of all 31 species tallied during the count.

Earlier in the afternoon, Ross and Don birded and performed some trail maintenance on the Portage River access dike along the north edge of the sanctuary off of Wooster Road and recorded 28 species including an Eastern Screech-Owl that responded to a running chain saw. Several warblers, sparrows and kinglets were observed. The link to the eBird checklist is included below.

Total Cranes Roosting: 3

Counters: Ross Green, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Crane Count checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S397341112

Portage River Access: https://ebird.org/checklist/S397614745