COLUMN: Cranes are here to stay

     Have you heard a crane lately? Like many of our migratory birds, sandhill cranes are arriving to begin this year’s nesting efforts. Their appearance is announced by their loud, melodious, and rattling calls. Calling when in flight or in a wetland, these birds really know how to get your attention. Their loud call is quite like no other and can easily be heard from over a half mile away. A great place to learn to identify and listen to their calls is https://www.savingcranes.org/species-field-guide/sandhill-crane/.

     Tall and elegant, standing up to four to five feet, cranes are among the oldest living bird species on earth. The sandhill crane is one of only 15 species of cranes in the world and is one of just two crane species native to North America. Once nearly extirpated from Iowa due to habitat loss and overhunting, sandhill cranes are making a comeback.

     Cranes are ground nesters, often nesting on muskrat lodges in shallow wetlands – their habitat of choice. Even their color is distinguished – sandhill cranes are gray colored birds with white cheeks, bare reddish colored foreheads, with dark colored beaks and legs.

     With a wingspan of six to seven feet, sandhill cranes are very impressive birds. If you spot a crane in flight, they look like a racehorse running at top speed with their heads and legs completely stretched out. Bachelor and family groups of sandhill cranes will fly in formation with flight marked by a rapid upstroke to their wing beat.

     Sandhill cranes over winter in the southern United States and return to Iowa in early March. They often return to the same nesting area each spring. Once back they quickly begin establishing their breeding territory. Territories can be anywhere from 10 to 200 acres. They do this by “unison calling” – performing a duet in which the male has a one-note call and the female has a two-note call. Cranes are famous for their energetic and inspiring courtship dance.

     Sandhill cranes are usually four years old before they begin to form pair bonds. Juveniles will form “bachelor flocks” and travel and feed together until they are ready to set up their own territories and breed. At that time, two greenish-brown oval-shaped eggs will be laid in April or early May on a pile of plant material or an old muskrat lodge. During the day, both the male and female will take turns incubating the eggs. At night the female incubates while the male stands guard. Sandhill cranes will give a single loud “guard call” if they spot danger. This alerts all other cranes of possible danger nearby.

     Opportunistic omnivores cranes will eat a wide variety of plant and animal material including snails, crawdads, worms, mice, birds, frogs, snakes, minnows, insects, acorns, roots, fruits, and various seeds and plant leaves. In Iowa, they love to search farm fields and meadows for invertebrates like juicy worms.

     During the nesting seasons, sandhill cranes are known to “paint” their feathers. This is done when they preen their feathers with mud. The mud helps to stain the feathers a brown earthly color to help camouflage them while they are sitting on their nest.

     The best time to spot sandhill cranes is at dawn and early evening. At these times they give unison calls, making them easier to locate. Although you’ll want to look for them close to a wetland, pond or river, they may be in nearby fields or pastures foraging.

     Although this year’s Midwest Crane Count has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, everyone can still look and listen for cranes whenever you are out and about. Maybe you’ll be surprised to find a nesting pair living near you.