[obol] Sandhill Cranes in Oregon

[Vernon DiPietro]

  I counted 214 SANDHILL CRANES at the end of Rentennaur (sp) rd  
yesterday.
  Also 1500 SNOW GEESE  just North of the Obs blind on Reeder.
  Vern
On Feb 12, 2008, at 6:30 AM, Paul T. Sullivan wrote:

> Mary Jo,
>
> In Oregon we have breeding Greater Sandhill Cranes at Malheur NWR  
> south of
> Burns, at Ladd Marsh state wildlilfe area near LaGrande, and at  
> many other
> high meadows scattered about the state (Fox, Whitney, etc).  There  
> is a
> Crane Prairie south of Bend, for example.  There is a pair in the  
> meadow
> near Little Crater Lake up near Mt. Hood. They winter in the  
> central valley
> of California and return to Oregon each spring.  There is also a  
> population
> in eastern Washington.  Othello WA holds a Sandhill Crane Festival  
> each
> spring with tours, speakers, etc.
> http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/
>
> We also have migrant Lesser Sandhill Cranes which pass through  
> Oregon on
> their way to breeding grounds in the arctic, including Siberia.   
> They come
> north in late February (soon!) over Crater Lake, cut downslope  
> along the
> west face of the Cascades and pass over Lebanon, Silverton, and  
> Portland.
> The lucky people who live along this route get to hear them while  
> they go
> about daily life, but you have to be outside on "the day" they pass  
> north.
> I was even lucky enough to hear them over my Beaverton apartment  
> ONCE in 16
> years. They stage in large numbers at Sauvie Island and Ridgefield NWR
> before continuing north.  You can see great numbers of them there  
> in March.
> They return in the fall (Oct- Dec.) to gather at Sauvie Is and  
> Ridgefield
> and feast on the waste corn, etc.  They are here for the Christmas  
> count.
> Again, you can see great numbers and enjoy their music.  They leave  
> when
> things freeze up and pass south over their traditional route.
>
> Sandhill Cranes are hard to find west of the Willamette River in  
> Washington,
> Yamhill, Polk, & Benton counties, but regular around Fern Ridge  
> Reservoir
> and at Creswell in the Eugene area.  Only a few are seen at the coast.
>
> Good crane-watching,
>
> Paul T. Sullivan
> ------------------------------------------
> Subject: Sandhill Cranes
> From: Mary Jo Harper <mjoharper AT comcast.net>
> Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:35:32 -0800
>
> Sandhill Cranes have been mentioned a couple of times since I've been
> reading on this list, and I was surprised to learn that they are  
> around
> here!  Where I was in Nebraska, we were on a major flyway.  The big  
> deal of
> the spring was the annual resting of them on the Platte River near  
> Gibbon,
> Nebraska.  There is a wonderful sanctuary built there for viewing and
> learning more about these birds, the Rowe sanctuary.  A good friend  
> and
> master birder was a docent there, spending a month or more each
> season.  Back up where we lived, a privilege it was for me to see  
> these
> beauties high, high overhead, and to hear their calls.  Back to us  
> on the
> ground, however, there was the barest sound, only enough to know  
> they were
> up there, crane our necks and watch the flights.  I didn't know we  
> had them
> in Oregon.  Tell me more about them being here, please?
>
> Mary Jo
>
> MJ Harper
> mjoharper AT comcast.net
>
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Vern DiPietro
Between Ada and Portland Oregon.
www.vernondipietrophotographer.com




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