Not long ago most of us here in Michigan had never even heard of a sandhill crane, much less think we’d ever see one. Now they are so common we hardly pause for a second look. The comeback of the sandhill crane is one of conservation’s greatest success stories. Originally sandhill cranes occurred in great numbers all across the country but they suffered a merciless pounding during the 1800s and much of the 1900s.

At first market hunting was devastating. Then came the wholesale destruction of their critical wetland habitat accompanied by rampant pollution and deadly herbicides and pesticides. By the mid 1900’s sandhill cranes, along with their cousins, whooping cranes, were on the verge of blinking out.

But the conservation community rolled up their sleeves and went to work and we began to clean up our act on all fronts. The sandhills were more than happy to respond.

Beginning in the 1970s the decline of sandhill cranes began to turn around but it would be a long, hard road back. Sandhill cranes aren’t prolific. They don’t sexually mature until four or five years old and pairs typically produce only one chick a year at best. They mate for life, which can be up to 25 years, and return to the same breeding area each year, establishing a territory of 40-200 acres. If that habitat is compromised for whatever reason so, too, is that pair’s chance of breeding success. Nevertheless, during the 1980s all populations of sandhill cranes across the country were stabilized or increasing.

There are actually six species of sandhill cranes. Three of them, the Florida, the Mississippi and the Cuban, are non migratory and only inhabit tiny pockets in their namesake area.Today, by far the most plentiful species are the lesser sandhill and the Canadian sandhill.  They winter along the Texas coast and down into northern Mexico. Each spring and fall they migrate through the plains states in huge flocks. In fact, the cranes get their name from the Sandhill region of central Nebraska where for eons they gather in immense numbers to rest during migration. The Canadian breeds in central Canada while the lesser continues on to the high Arctic. The final species, the greater sandhill, is the one nesting here in the Great Lakes area, primarily Michigan and Wisconsin. They migrate to southern Georgia and Florida for the winter. There are also greater sandhills in the western states but I’ll limit discussion to our eastern greater sandhill.

As always habitat is the key. They nest in shallow marshes but aren’t really much of a marsh bird. Most of their food sources occur in open upland areas. They eat everything from worms, mice, insects, birds and snakes to seeds, roots and a wide variety of vegetation. They also have a reputation for eating corn, wheat and oats as well as newly sprouting grain plants. That doesn’t always endear them to farmers. However, I’ve observed when given a choice they seem to prefer fallow fields and grassy pastures for foraging. Ideal habitat is a shallow wetland with an adjacent field and/or crop land.
Unlike their brethren of the plains states, greater sandhills don’t form large flocks for spring’s northerly migration. They wander up in small groups, typically ma, pa, and a kid or two from the previous year, usually arriving here in Michigan in early March. That’s when the kids get a big surprise. Upon arrival, Mom and dad promptly boot them out in order to begin preparation for a new family. These young birds wander around in small, loose knit groups for several years until they sexually mature around age four. Then they find a mate and establish their own breeding territory. Come fall, though, greater sandhills do gather in large flocks for the south bound journey. That’s when crop damage is most likely to be significant.

The sandhill recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. In 1980 there were only about 12,000 greater sandhills on earth of which around 2,000 nested here in Michigan. Today population estimates are 45,000 nationwide with approximately 18,000 of them calling Michigan home. If only the whooping crane was so resilient, but that’s another story.

Carpe diem.