The cranes are back! 

It was warm, the sun was shining, the wind was mild, the tress were in full color, only three mosquito bites-a prefect night.  I counted nearly 500 cranes last night while working as a greeter along with Carol.  In addition to the cranes, nearly 60 visitors were at the overlook or walking the trails.  In the 5 o’clock hour we had well over a hundred come in with many flying above the overlook.  Several juvenile calls were heard. 

Later, close to sunset, the reminder flew into the marsh, predominantly from the northwest.  We had some good flyovers and a strong finish for the night.

 Of note: we observed three Norther Harriers.

Due to expected bad weather tonight, this will serve as the official crane count for the week.  You can see from the low number of species below I did not have our expert birders, Gary & Ross with me.

eBird checklist is available at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S60817600

Crane counters:    Steve Jerant, Carol Strahler
Compiler:  Steve Jerant
Submitted by Steve Jerant

Crane Count:  487 observed, majority landed in the marsh
Species count:  14

60 Canada Goose

20 Wood Duck

20 Mallard

3 Mourning Dove

487 Sandhill Crane -- Total cranes observed.

4 Great Egret

3 Northern Harrier

1 Sharp-shinned/Cooper's Hawk

1 Red-bellied Woodpecker

10 Blue Jay

10 American Crow

75 American Robin

6 Cedar Waxwing

400 Red-winged Blackbird

1 Common Grackle

You can view past postings and historical crane counting data at

Haehnle site at http://www.haehnlesanctuary.org/crane-count