SHAWANO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A sign of spring is visible in Shawano County.
Sandhill Cranes have returned to the Navarino Wildlife Center, but Director Tim Ewing notes they were late, typically arriving closer to March 10.
“With the temperatures, they’re not getting as warm during the day, so melt off is coming a little bit slower. The ground is still pretty hard.”
Ewing says the cranes can be found in the fields during the day but retreat to the nearby wetlands area at night.
“With the flowages being frozen, that does give predators a little bit of an opportunity to get out on the ice.”
He notes the area is also seeing Tundra Swans.
“They’ve been kind of off to the south yet around Shiocton, and along the Wolf River, and a couple of wetlands down there that are starting to open up. They’re going all the way up to the Arctic Circle, so they can only move as far as where there’s open water.”
Ewing expects there could be 5,000 cranes in the area by next month.
