This past Saturday crane counters from around Midwest counted Sandhill Cranes within their counties and here in Houston County, Minnesota we did our part. We’ve been counting cranes in Houston County, Minnesota for many years now. I believe this is the 12th year for myself. Our weather has run from nice, mild sunny conditions all the way to snow and this year we almost had to postpone it due to heavy snow on the shoulders of the roads. Last year we actually did postpone it a week due to freezing rain and high winds.
As we have learned, it really doesn’t pay to do a crane count in bad weather. The cranes are smart enough to be hunkered down while us fools stand out in crazy weather hoping for a glimpse or a muffled call. This year was marginal but with the Easter Sunday weekend coming up, we decided to dig in our heals and do the count. It actually didn’t turn out too bad with the total count being 31 cranes. I’m sure we missed a few, but the numbers seemed to be somewhat consistent with other years.
Some years (as in last year) we came upon a grove of bachelors feeding in a field and that elevated the numbers substantially. That’s pretty unusual however. It’s difficult to ascertain the total number of cranes that now nest in Houston County. The cranes are most common along the Root and Mississippi River wetlands and that’s a lot of territory⏤some of which is very difficult to navigate. Most of our counters count from along roadsides and although we are in prime sandhill crane territory, we are for sure missing other hard-to-get areas.
It’s always a fun event and most meet for breakfast afterwards to share their stories for the two-hour window in which we count. We start early, about a half-hour before dawn. Not only are cranes heard, but all sorts of birds and animals. It’s always different every year. You never know what you will experience.
This year we had a reporter (Jennifer Lu) from the La Crosse Tribune who joined us for the count and wrote a really nice article. You can read the article here.
⏤Alan Stankevitz