It is not uncommon, while on the road, to think back to the great friends who are not nearby. It was a year ago that a group of us went up to Crex Meadows, near Grantsburg, Wisconsin, to see the migration of Sandhill Cranes.
The Cranes feed in nearby fields, but roost during the night in the wetlands preserve of Crex Meadows. We chose to go at dusk, as dawn would be a tad early. It’s also great to see the flocks of cranes coming home to roost.
The birds are quite large. Their frequently give a loud, trumpeting call that suggests a rolled “r” in the throat, and they can be heard from a long distance. They are comical as they come in to land, going from graceful soaring to just lowering their legs in a goofy way. It seems to work for them.
By the time we saw them in late October, there were 27,000 birds roosting there. We also saw swans, geese, ducks, and eagles.
I highly recommend checking this out in the spring or the fall.
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