An FYI for those interested. I was at the Slate Run Metropark today outside of Columbus. In the wildlife refuge wetlands on the west end. I saw a minimum of 4, perhaps as many as 10 Sandhill cranes. Not sure how long they will be there, but I did not see them 2 days ago when I was out. They were apparently trying to group up and would periodically sound their unison call. If you go, watch walking on the path up on the berms. I belly crawled up in all these instances and was rewarded with a good deal of observation time. If you go out tomorrow, try to beat out weekend crowds. Everything spooks to deeper areas of the marsh when people start profiling themselves up on the berms. I also spotted mallards, canada geese, american coots, great blue herons, red tailed hawk,turkey buzzards, and numerous songbirds.
The cranes are also back in our area. I saw the first ones the first week of March although I haven't seen any since last weeks blizzard.
Posted by Toni Lankerd on April 2, 2011 at 9:14 AM
I've heard and saw one flock of about 10-12 Cranes fly over a couple of weeks ago, but nothing since. Hope to see more as the weather starts warming up!
Posted by Bill Brennan on April 2, 2011 at 3:32 PM
Hope you are having fun with the Sandhill Cranes. They are wonderful to observe and photograph. My favorite place is the Bosque del Apache in New Mexico during the winter.
Discussion
3 repliesGood luck,
Rob
Bill Brennan
Tucson and Denver