Sandhill Crane Migration, Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area

For Julie’s birthday a few weeks ago, we trekked down to Indiana to witness the Sandhill Crane migration at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area. This was something Julie did when she was a child, and she remembers taking the girls to visit here when they were kids as well.

The tricky part of our journey was trying to find the location that Julie remembered, from when she first came to the spot. She has a memory of a spot that required a bit of walking, and was about 1.5 miles away from the main parking area.

Me, Liz, Bob and Julie found our way to the main viewing area… and started to follow the marked path that led through a small grove nearby.

Before we knew it, we found ourselves at a very large, wooden structure standing at the edge of a very lengthy field. This was nowhere near 1.5 miles, and it wasn’t something Julie remembered at all. Though we saw a few other paths nearby, we also saw signs warning against trespassing. So we decided to stick around at the main viewing area, and would perhaps return for a future search for the original spot.

// Edit: Now that I’m looking at the website a bit closer, I wonder if what Julie remembers is a specfic “roosting marsh.” These seem to now be closed to the public, and the area we were at was officially called the “Goose Pasture Viewing Area.”

Walking around the bottom of the structure, I was pretty fascinated with numerous, intersecting wood planks that made up the base.

At the top level of the observation area. A lot of folks were already situated with their binoculars and viewing gear.

When we arrived, there were only a handful of cranes a fair distance away. It was tough to see without help.

Luckily though, there were one or two free viewers, built into the deck. Here, Liz is taking a gander (see what I did there) and spotting a few deer out there, in the mix.

After a while, we moved down to the ground and spent the rest of our time in an open area, to the left of the observation deck.

As the sun got lower, we started seeing more and more cranes arrive. At first, they came in very small groups – twos and threes, mostly.

Me, getting distracted again because I’m a nerd for symmetry.

We slowly started to see small lines and V’s of cranes, coming in from a few different directions.

At the edge of the field.

A lot of other folks were also on the ground level, looking over to some private land where a few cranes were resting and hanging out.

A small group, coming in overhead.

As dusk approached, more and more cranes made their way down to the field. It was hard, not to imagine them all like little airplanes, coming in for a landing.

Eventually, cranes were appearing from all over – from our left and right. In a few instances, cranes came up from behind, and we wouldn’t even know they were there until we saw them swoop overhead.

A quick shot of another group, overhead.

Many more in the sky, now.

The funny thing? In talking with a few other folks who were here, this was a relatively mild number of cranes to witness. We were told to come back in mid-November, when there would be a LOT more cranes arriving.

Given these descriptions (and based on Julie’s memories), it’s difficult to imagine such a large number of birds, filling both sky and field. Who knows, maybe we’ll end up trekking back here in another week or two, and see what we see.

Related:
Julie’s Birthday Day In Chicago