Crane Count

Grus canadensis

Once every fall and every spring, the call goes out across the UWSP campus- the call for Crane counters!

The Crane Count project is a twice a year census of the sandhill crane population in Wisconsin. The fall count, done in coordination with USFWS, occurs in October when the birds are staging before their migration south.

The spring count takes place in late April after the cranes have returned north, paired up, and have chosen nesting sites. It is done in conjunction with the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI.

Before each count, information meetings are held, where data sheets and maps of previously used staging or nesting areas are handed out. Volunteer counters sign up for a site; some drive, others without cars ride along. On the chosen Saturday, counters reach their sites before sun-up and count the cranes spotted and heard with the upcoming sun. When the sun is high in the sky, and crane activity has ceased, it is the counters' turn to gather: to turn in data sheets, to munch doughnuts and sip cider, to share adventures of the morning, and to look ahead six months and anticipate the next call for the sandhills.