Sandhill crane calling at Navarino State Wildlife Area in Shawano County, April 4, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
SHAWANO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Volunteers with a long-running citizen survey are gearing up for an event to see how many of a certain bird are across the region.
The annual Midwest Crane Count takes place early Saturday morning.
“Sandhill cranes can be about four foot tall. They have a red crest on their head. And this time of year, they’re grey,” said Tim Ewing, Navarino Nature Center Director and Naturalist.
Tim Ewing says identifying sandhill cranes is relatively easy. He says the big birds are part of the upcoming Midwest Crane Count which spans seven states and typically tallies about 15,000 sandhills.
“For Wisconsin, it’s somewhere between 9,000, to 11-15,000. Normally, for Shawano County, when we do the sandhill crane count, our numbers usually range between 1,500 cranes, to up to 3,000 cranes,” he said.
Ewing says he has a strategy.
“You got to get a visual on it. So, usually, it’s binoculars. And you’re looking through binoculars, and you kind of get the mindset, okay, this is what 20 cranes, or 50 cranes looks like through the binoculars,” he said.
Ewing says numbers can add up in a hurry.
“If something happens, and “flock fright” happens, and all the birds go up in the air. They leave real quick. Then you’re trying to count within a matter of seconds, as they’re flying overhead,” he said.
Ewing says information goes to the Baraboo-based International Crane Foundation, to help protect the 15 different species around the world.
“They’re trying some of the things that have worked with sandhill cranes, on other species of cranes, and then also this type of information can sometimes cross to other species as well,” he said.
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