The Sandhill Crane

Grus canadensis

This pair of Sandhill Cranes had just crossed Phantom Lake and were located very near the southwestern corner of the lake. I watched the female crossing the lake with one chick. This was the first time I had seen cranes swimming.

The cranes feathers are stained brown from their winter grounds high iron content in the mud they are in contact with.

This is only the second time I have seen a young chick (crane chicks are called colts). This was the closest I have been to a very young bird at around 60 feet away. I would estimate the colt (chick) was between 1-2 weeks old based on size.

Here is the female and the colt walking north along Phantom Lake road.

My apologies for the blurred and very small picture. I was forced to take the picture thru the window of the car due to my not wanting to alarm the parents.

The colt ran off the road and I was able to pass. The male attempted to lead me away from the family.



The picture on the right is the closest shot I was able to take of these birds.

The picture below is the full head shot cropped from the picture on the right and full size.

Pictures of this pair taken June 28, 2007













The picture on the left is shot of the Sandhill Crane with two Red-winged Blackbirds on the road. This picture shows how tall the Sandhill Crane is when compared to a typical sized bird common to most peoples birding experiences.

Sandhill Cranes are between 4 and 5 feet tall. Their wingspan is around 80 inches (6-7 feet).

Picture taken June 28, 2007





The tracks on the right were found on Cranberry Dike Road and walked most of the length of this area.

As is typical for Crex Meadows, the winds had begun to blow quite early in the day and the tracks were begining to fill in over much of the area the Sandhill Crane had traveled.

As the picture shows, each step of a Sandhill Crane covers around 18-20 inches of ground.

The footprint is around 6 inches long and nearly as wide.

Tracks from the Sandhill Cranes are common throughout the Crex Meadows area and can be found outside of the boundries on lesser traveled roads.

The primary diet of the Sandhill Crane is seeds and grains with mixed vegetative matter. To a lesser extent, the diet includes insects, aquatic invertebrates, reptiles or amphibians, small mammals, and fish.

The crane tracks picture is from June 28, 2007

















The above picture shows a group of staging Sandhill Cranes on October 4, 2007. The iron stains are no longer discoloring the Cranes feathers.

On this day groups of Sandhill Cranes covered Crex Meadows. Along Phantom Lake road I estimate at least 1,000 cranes were present at 7:30am.



As I approached Crex Meadows, just south of Grantsburg, I saw groups of Sandhill Cranes leaving the Fish Lake area. As I approached Phantom Lake Road the giant V's of the Cranes were lifting off from Crex Meadows area.

The Sandhills flights from and around Crex Meadows continued at a steady pace until 10am and then began to slow until noon, when movement was a trickle.

There were still large numbers of Sandhill Cranes on Crex Meadows



The pictures show how Sandhill Cranes fly with their neck outstretched. This is one way to be sure you are seeing a Crane. Herons fly with their neck folded back in an 'S' shape.

When the Sandhill is flying, the wingbeat freezes for a split second between the end of the downbeat and the lift of the wing, giving them a 'flick' when observed in flight. This flick movement can be an identifier of birds in flight.

Picture taken October 4, 2007

The Sandhill Crane sound file has been noise reduced due to car noises and wind noises. The recording equipment I have is not the best for obtaining good audio of birds, but it is what I have.

Listen to the Sandhill Crane

Recording length of 7 seconds. Size of file 64kb.


Sandhill Crane Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia Animal, animals, animaux
Phylum Chordata chordates, cordado, cordés
Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrado, vertebrates, vertébrés
Class Aves Birds, oiseaux
OrderGruiformes Cranes, grues, Rails
Family Gruidae Cranes
SubfamilyGruinae
Genus Grus Cranes
SpeciesGrus canadensis Sandhill Crane
Subspecies Grus canadensis canadensis Lesser Sandhill Crane
Subspecies Grus canadensis nesiotes Cuba Sandhill Crane
Subspecies Grus canadensis pratensis
Subspecies Grus canadensis pulla Mississippi Sandhill Crane
Subspecies Grus canadensis rowani
Subspecies Grus canadensis tabida

The Mississippi Sandhill Crane and the Cuba Sandhill Crane are both considered Endangered.

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