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.]

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 11/25/2024

By Don Henise

We experienced our highest count of the season with 1,866 Sandhill Cranes roosting in Mud Lake Marsh. They came fast and furious for a while and with only 2 of us counting tonight, we struggled to keep up at times. Temps were in the 40s with an overcast sky and fortunately for us, the rain that was threatening held off until after sunset. With the threatening weather other bird activity was quite low, however we did have a quick sighting of a Northern Shrike perched on top of one of the big maple trees. We got busy with crane counting and soon lost track of it.

Total Cranes Roosting: 1,866

Counters: Don Henise & Steve Jerant

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S203629961

(Steve Jerant)

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 11/18/2024

By Don Henise

The number of Sandhill Cranes using Haehnle Sanctuary’s Mud Lake Marsh bounced back this week. A total of 1,292 cranes were counted landing in the marsh Monday evening to spend the night. Numerous waterfowl continue to use the marsh. See the link to the eBird list below for the full list of waterfowl. At dusk, as Robyn was counting the last few cranes coming into the marsh, she spotted a lone Snow Goose flying in from the northwest. The Snow Goose circled around the marsh for nearly 10 minutes before it finally landed, affording all the observers on the hill a chance to view it in the failing light.

The weather for the afternoon and evening count was again unseasonably warm with temps in the 50s. The sky was overcast, the wind was light, and we did experience some light rain towards the end of the count. Fifty-two bird species were observed including several American Tree Sparrows in the prairie giving their tinkling calls all evening, and a large flock of Cedar Waxwings in the trees to the right of the lookout. Near dusk, a Merlin again made an appearance, chasing the tree sparrows in the prairie.

CarolinaWren(Thryothorus ludovicianus)(Don Henise)

Other than the Merlin, raptor sightings were not remarkable, with only 2 distant Bald Eagle sightings, 2 Northern Harriers working the marsh, and only one Red-tailed Hawk observed. However, Gary reported seeing a light morph Rough-legged Hawk Sunday evening, while greeting at the Sanctuary.

Total Cranes Roosting: 1,292

Counters: Ross Green, Robyn Henise, Gary Siegrist, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S202956484

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 11/11/2024

By Don Henise

Our string of balmy Monday evening weather came to a halt this week. Although it was still warmer than normal, the wind was blowing strong from the west-southwest, sometimes gusting to more than 30 mph, making it feel quite cold. We were all trying to huddle in front of the observation hill kiosk to get some shelter from the wind. The number of Sandhill Cranes dropped off this week with only 541 staying to roost in the marsh with another 600+ flying by heading to other areas for the night.

Don Henise

With the high winds, very few songbirds were active, so we only managed to record a total of 25 bird species. A Golden Eagle spotted in the distance to the north was the highlight of the evening for the few of us able to see it. Bald Eagles were present throughout the afternoon and evening with 7 being visible at one time across the horizon.

See the link below for the complete eBird checklist for the count.

Total Cranes Roosting: 541

Counters: Ross Green, Robyn Henise, Steve Jerant, Gary Siegrist, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S202223412

(Steve Jerant)

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 11/04/2024

By Don Henise

Temps were in the mid-sixties, unseasonable warm for November 4^th. The sky was overcast and rain was threatening, but the only precipitation we experienced was a little drizzle. The Sandhill Crane flight into Mud Lake Marsh was incredible this evening as cranes came in from multiple directions. A total of 1528 cranes remained to roost in the marsh for the night. Another 581 were counted as fly-bys, most of them appearing to go down into private property to the north of Haehnle Sanctuary.

View from the lower lookout (Steve Jerant)

A total of 35 bird species were tallied for the evening. Again, lots of Ducks continue to be seen between the marsh and Eagle Lake. For the past few weeks, we have been seeing a few Rusty Blackbirds each Monday evening. Tonight, several of the trees to the right of the overlook were full of blackbirds; the 35 Rusty Blackbirds we put on the eBird checklist was probably a low estimate.

This is beginning to sound like a broken record – we again had a Merlin appear in the middle of the crane flight. This week though it didn’t just blast through, but landed on a tree top for a few minutes before flying past the lookout hill.

Total Cranes Roosting: 1,528

Counters: Ross Green, Robyn Henise, Steve Jerant, Gary Siegrist, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S201437934

Haehnle Sanctuary & USFWS Crane Count 10/28/2024

By Don Henise

A Northern Shrike made its first appearance of the fall at in the afternoon. It worked the brush at the edge of the marsh for more than a half hour before it disappeared to the southeast. Dabbling duck numbers and species diversity continue to increase as the fall progresses. A pair of adult Bald Eagles perched in a dead snag out in the marsh were continually launching sorties and flushing the ducks into the air, allowing us to see large numbers of Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Ducks and other species in flight over the marsh. For the second week in a row a Merlin blasted over the lookout hill at dusk. See the checklist below for all species and numbers.

Total Cranes Roosting: 1,046

Counters: Robyn Henise, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S200657313

USFWS Annual Crane Count

By Steve Jerant

In addition to Don & Robyn counting at Haehnle, we had two other groups of counters in the area.  Ross Green and Mike Bowen west to the west and counted near the fields at the turn on Dalton Rd.  While they say lots of birds gathered in the field, none of them stayed the night.

Lathe Claflin and I went over to private property about 2 miles north.  I counted in a marsh area to the east.  I had nearly a hundred cranes down but then some of them left to move to the west.  My total was only 67.  There was a lot of cranes coming down to the south of me.   Lathe had better luck in his spot to the east.  Cranes came down in two separate areas and he tallied 261 and 762 in the two locations.

We had mild weather, great color, seventeen participants, and lots of mockingbirds on our trip to Watkins Lake on Tuesday.  I planned this trip a month earlier than our normal November waterfowl trip in the hopes of getting a good color tour of the park.  In addition, the upland grassland on the Washtenaw side of the property offers a great view of the surrounding area-you can even see Brooklyn!

Right out of the gate the park’s resident Mockingbird’s were out & about and 5 were seen.  We started walking the trail to the east toward the upland area.  After much encouragement from the group a few more Mockingbirds were coaxed to make the jump east over the county line so we could count them in Washtenaw.  We tallied 3.

(Brenda Wineman)

A short walk off our route to a view from the grassland to the lake’ was rewarded with the sight of hundreds of Canada Goose coming in for a landing on the lake.  We then started the woodland trek up the hill to the grand view.  It was a bit of a climb, but well worth it.  The view was great, and the fall colors were spot on. I think we got peak color on that day.  So, of course forgot to take a pic.

The loop trail down was though more grassland and was a more gradual descent.  We’ll go up that side next time.  The walk on this path allows a lakeside view to the west, but there was not too much activity there.

After a return to the parking lot for a quick refresh, we walked down Arnold Rd. for the waterfowl part of the tour.  I think we did pretty good in terms of wildfowl. We saw 19 waterfowl and other water birds in the lake. 

Toward the end of the viewing, we had a falcon identified as a Peregrine Falcon.  This Duck Hawk did not stop for a snack, but just gave as a quick flyby.

Bird lists for the trip are below. Be sure to check out photos in the checklists.

Parking lot & west end of trail:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S199888781

Washtenaw county:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S199895916

Jackson County lake sightings:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S199895983

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/21/2024

(Steve Jerant)

By Don Henise

Sandhill Cranes are finally making their way into Haehnle Sanctuary marsh in good numbers. Over the weekend, volunteer greeters counted 300+ and 400+ cranes flying in just before sunset. On our official Monday evening count, with unseasonably warm temperatures near 80 degrees, 504 cranes were counted landing in Mud Lake Marsh to roost for the night. An additional 467 were observed flying past the sanctuary, most appearing to land in wetlands to the north of the sanctuary, giving a total of 971 cranes observed from the Harold Wing observation hill.

(Steve Jerant)

A total of 35 bird species were observed during the afternoon and evening count – see the eBird checklist link below. Ducks have begun arriving in the area over the past weeks and many were seen out in the marsh. Three rusty Blackbirds were viewed perched in the trees near the overlook in the early afternoon. Near sunset, a Merlin blasted over the overlook.

Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) (Don Henise)

This has been a good fall for Common Buckeye butterflies in Jackson County and many continue to be seen along the trails through the prairies at Haehnle. Autumn Meadowhawks are normally the last dragonfly species to be on the wing in the fall. There were probably hundreds of them still flying around the grasslands on this warm evening. In years when the weather stays mild, we see the Autumn Meadowhawks into November.

 
Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) (Don Henise)

Buckeye (Junonia coenia)(Don Henise)

Total Cranes Roosting: 504

Counters: Gary Siegrist, Steve Jerant, Don Henise, Robyn Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S199820859

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/14/2024

Ross & Gary held down the fort on Monday night and counted cranes for us.  They almost hit one hundred (99) on the flybys and we got 91 to stay overnight.  Brenda had an unofficial count of 141 on Sunday while working as a greeter.

(Brenda Wineman)

Complete eBird checklist:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S199009705

Total Cranes Roosting:  91

Counters: Ross Green & Gary Siegrist

Compiled by: Ross Green

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/07/2024
By Don Henise

October 7th was sparrow night at the Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count. We observed 7 species of sparrows including Chipping, Field, White-crowned, White-throated, Song, Lincoln’s and Swamp Sparrows. Most of these were in the brush just to the right of the overlook, but a few were also seen down near the lower benches at the apple trees. An Orange-crowned Warbler was viewed early in the evening in the trees above the overlook kiosk.

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)(Don Henise)

Sandhill Crane numbers remain relatively low with only 6 cranes remaining to roost in the marsh, matching last weeks number. A total of 73 others were counted flying past, most heading to roost north of the sanctuary.

A total of 40 bird species were observed during the count – see the eBird checklist link below.

Total Cranes Roosting: 6

Counters: Ross Green, Steve Jerant, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S197960442