We are back in business! 345 cranes will be spending the night in the Mud Lake Marsh this evening. A total of 451 were observed. Nearly 300 of them flew in about 6:40 PM in the span of about 2 minutes! We heard lots of juveniles as they flew by.
We had an unofficial count of nearly 500 on Saturday evening.
A small group of egrets and a solo great blue heron also settled in for the evening. Temperatures in the low 40s and a 15 mph wind meant no mosquitoes this week.
eBird checklist is available at: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49222463
Crane counters: Don Henise, & Steve Jerant
Compiler: Steve Jerant
Submitted by Steve Jerant
Crane Count: 345, 451 observed flying in area
Species count: 29
|
Species
|
Count
|
|
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
|
50
|
|
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)
|
5
|
|
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
|
40
|
|
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)
|
2
|
|
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
|
3
|
|
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
|
30
|
|
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)
|
5
|
|
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
|
300
|
|
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)
|
1
|
|
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)
|
30
|
|
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
|
1
|
|
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)
|
451
|
|
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
|
3
|
|
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
|
1
|
|
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
|
7
|
|
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
|
2
|
|
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)
|
3
|
|
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
|
1
|
|
Accipiter sp. (Accipiter sp.)
|
1
|
|
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
|
2
|
|
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
|
2
|
|
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
|
3
|
|
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
|
10
|
|
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
|
100
|
|
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
|
20
|
|
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)
|
4
|
|
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
|
6
|
|
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
|
10
|
|
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
|
500
|
|
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)
|
2
|
You can view past postings and historical crane counting data at http://www.haehnlesanctuary.org/crane-count
