Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/26/2026 by Don Henise

Haehnle Sanctuary(Don Henise)

After several weeks of low counts It would seem that some northern cranes have finally move south. We counted 633 Sandhill Cranes flying into Mud Lake Marsh to roost for the night. Many cranes came in from the west flying right over the observation hill. As with last week, a big push of cranes came right at sunset with several large lines coming in from across the marsh from the east-northeast as the light was failing.

Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)(Don Henise)

An immature Bald Eagle made a flight overhead, the regular Northern Harriers were seen working the marsh. Songbirds were fairly quiet, but we did see 3 female Purple Finches, our first of the fall. As usual, the eBird checklist is linked below.

Sandhill Cranes roosting in Mud Lake Marsh: 633

60 F, Calm, Clear

Counters Gary Siegrist, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Crane Count checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S405718381

Editor's Note:  Tonight was also the annual USFWS Crane count performed by volunteers of the Jackson Audubon Society.  Three other locations in Jackson County were surveyed during the same period as the Haehnle Sanctuary count.

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)(Don Henise)

Connie Spotts, President of Jackson Audubon Society, has been featured in this Michigan Audubon article.  It's all about her new Eastern Bluebird and Mallard nests she staged this year.

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/19/2026 by Don Henise

Sandhill Cranes did out number visitors this past Monday evening. We ended with 119 cranes staying to roost in Mud Lake Marsh. A marked increase over the past few weeks, but still a bit lower that average for this time in October. Most of those cranes came in late as it was getting dark.

Haehnle_Mud Lake Marsh(Don Henise)

Earlier in the evening we had a beautiful male Northern Harrier flying high over the marsh.

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)(Don Henise)

A few Rusty Blackbirds were detected with the flocks of red-wings and grackles. At dusk while we were busy trying to follow and count the cranes as the light was fading, a Short-eared Owl was heard giving its distinctive barking call from the grassland to our left. A total of 37 bird species were observed during the count. See the eBird checklist linked below.

119 Sandhill Cranes roosting in Mud Lake Marsh

62 F, Calm, Clear

Counters Ross Green, Gary Siegrist, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Crane Count checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S403886935

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/12/2026 by Don Henise

On this very warm October day, the human visitors to Haehnle Sanctuary outnumbered the Sandhill Crane visitors. There were a handful of flyovers, but only 5 cranes landed out in the marsh to roost for the night.

(Steve Jerant)

We noted the first American Wigeons of the season on Mud Lake, a Ruby Crowned Kinglet visited the apple trees near the lower benches and a group of White-throated Sparrows were hanging out in the brush to the right of the main lookout along with a lone Oranged-crowned Warbler. A few of our visitors were entained with scope views of 3 Bald Eagles sitting in a distant tree. Please see the eBird checklist below for a full list of species.

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)(Don Henise)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)(Don Henise)

Total Cranes Roosting: 5

81 F, Calm, Clear

Counters: Ross Green, Steve Jerant, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Crane Count checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S402048524

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)(Don Henise)

Black-legged Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum nigripes)(Don Henise)

Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)(Don Henise)

On Tuesday five members of Jackson Audubon met to check out bird activity at the Portage Lake unit in the Waterloo Recreation Area. This location is a great spring and autumn migration location. We started at the boat launch area. The water yielded Bonaparte's Gull, Belted Kingfisher, and a Bald Eagle flyover.

From there we walked the oak-hickory forest to the eastern shoreline of the lake. From this area we got a Belted Kingfisher, Sandhill Crane, and Double-crested Cormorant. The new dock and platform installed recently is a great spot to just get out on the lake for a better view and a seat.

We searched for fall migrants and other woodland birds for the remainder of the walk. The only warbler we got was the beloved Butterbutt (Yellow-rumped Warbler). Other migrants include Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and a single Osprey heading south. Our count was a respectable thirty-two species.

Complete species list is available on eBird at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S399783653

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/05/2026 by Don Henise

Sandhill Crane numbers picked up a bit this past Monday as 33 were counted landing in the marsh at Haehnle Sanctuary. We observed over 100 cranes during the evening count with a couple of flocks flying directly overhead.

View of Marsh with Don & cranes (Steve Jerant)

Thirty-one species were counted with no real highlights other than the regular Northern Harriers that cruise over the marsh and a few fall sparrows working in the brush near the overlook. See the checklist for the complete list.

Total Cranes Roosting: 33

Counters: Ross Green, Steve Jerant, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Crane Count checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S399602831

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

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 09/21/2026 by Don Henise

The number of Sandhill Cranes roosting in Mud Lake Marsh inched upward for the second week of the Crane Count. Last week there were 3, this week we had 5 cranes stay in the marsh for the night. Another 25 or so were observed as flybys over the marsh. Twenty-six total species were observed for the evening with raptors providing the most entertainment.

(Steve Jerant)

An immature Bald Eagle made a close pass, 2 Northern Harriers again worked the marsh and a Merlin flew over and then later was spotted perched on a tree out in the marsh.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)(Don Henise)

As usual the complete list of species can be found in eBird.

Total Cranes Roosting:  5

Counters:    Ross Green, Steve Jerant, Don Henise

Compiled by:  Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S395100686

Haehnle Fall Tour 09/15/2026

Well, it wasn't supposed to rain.  A small group of JAS members met for a fall walk at the Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Sanctuary.  After an update on the conservation work in the savanna restoration, we headed up the the overlook.  There was a bit of activity behind the kiosk in the shrubby areas. We took a relaxed view of the marsh and took our time just taking in the morning.

(Steve Jerant)

Turns out that was a good call because the clouds moved in with some  thunder & lightning.  So our tour turned out to be a "big stand"--no covered seating for a big sit.  

Once the storm moved on we took a short walk on the trails.  Some migrating warblers were active but very secretive on the border trail between the grassland and the new savanna area.  Eagle Lake was quiet with just a small group of Wood Ducks observed.  

We managed to get to 30 species for the morning and stayed dry.

eBird list available at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S393196013

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 09/14/2026 by Don Henise

The Fall 2026 Sandhill Crane Count at Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Sanctuary started this past Monday, September 14th. In recent years it seems that the cranes have been beginning their staging at Haehnle later in the season. On Monday we observed only 3 cranes landing in the marsh to roost for the night. A handful of other cranes were seen either as flyovers or departures from the marsh during the count time.

(Steve Jerant)

Thirty-one species of birds were observed. We did have a showing from 2 Northern Harriers, a young bird and one adult male coursing over the marsh. At one point 3 Wilson's Snipes circled above Mud Lake. Numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds are beginning to mass in the marsh getting flushed up occasionally as the Harriers cruised by. You can see the complete list in the link below.

Don Henise

Total Cranes Roosting:  3

Counters:    Ross Green, Steve Jerant, Don Henise

Compiled by:  Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S393641341