The cranes! The cranes! The cranes!

I kept hearing various rumblings of sandhill crane sightings from Arboretum staff and visitors, but I had yet to witness this fall’s migration. On Thursday and Friday of this week, I was fortunate to have been walking on both the east and west sides of the Arboretum and heard that distinctive call of the cranes. What a pleasure to see these incredible birds flying high overhead! Haven’t seen or heard the cranes yet this season? Make tracks for the Arboretum and keep your eyes on the sky!

More details about the sandhill cranes can be found in these works within the collections of the Sterling Morton Library:

• Stone, Lynn M. Sandhill cranes, 1997.
• Grooms, Steve. The cry of the sandhill crane, 1992.
• Walkinshaw, Lawrence H. The sandhill cranes, 1949.
• Gatherings of angels : migrating birds and their ecology, 1999.
• Johnsgard, Paul A. Crane music : a natural history of American cranes, 1991.
• The Birds of North America, no. 31, 1992.

Additional information can be found at:

• All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Entry about sandhill cranes in Wikipedia
• International Crane Foundation
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Article about Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area

Enjoy this annual autumnal treat!