It’s sandhill crane migration time again.
Thousands of sandhill cranes pass through Indiana on their way south at Jasper-Pulaski (JP) and Goose Pond fish & wildlife areas. More than 2,000 were seen stopping during the last week.
The best time to view the cranes is at sunrise and sunset.
- Sunrise: Gigantic flocks rise and fly from their roosting marshes to feed in surrounding private agricultural fields. On their way to feed some birds stop in the open grassland areas of the refuge.
- Sunset: Beginning about one hour before sunset, flocks of cranes kite into the refuge near the observation area from all directions.
The best location to view the crane spectacle is best seen from the observation platform at the Sandhill Crane Observation Area (view map). During the day, cranes can be spotted feeding and dancing in nearby harvested farm fields. Roosting marshes in the Waterfowl Resting Area are closed to the public so that migrating birds can rest without human disturbance.
While cranes may gather close to the observation platform, they are usually several hundred yards away. A few stationary viewing scopes are available but bringing your own spotting scope or binoculars is recommended. If you are photographing cranes, your most powerful zoom lens will be handy, as trying to get too close to these birds will easily spook them.
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