Sandhill Cranes: Count

This time of year, millions of cranes are flying north on their annual spring migration. Amongst these travelers are hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes that spend the winter in the southern United States and Mexico are now returning to their breeding sites, scattered throughout the northern states, Canada and even on to Siberia. For one family in Wisconsin, the return of the sandhill cranes is a big event. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont.

“OK, now what we’re going to be looking for a big bird, red spot on top of its head..red spot on its head, on its neck…”

Every year, Pulse of the Planet listener Dennis Lammert and his three young daughters spend a couple of early morning hours, sitting out in a field watching for sandhill cranes.

“When it flies, its wingtips go up instead of beat down like a Canadian goose..”

The Lammert family volunteers to help count sandhill cranes, which are thriving in Wisconsin, thanks to restoration of their wetland habitat. The crane count determines where the birds are settling, but it’s also an educational experience. The Lammert girls are learning how to spot a sandhill crane by both its call and its body position in flight.

“Dad, what’s that big bird? Let’s see what we got here? Hear ’em? Now you hear ’em. That’s their call. O.K., you want to mark down a call? What time is it? Let’s see it’s 5:43. So I put one crane? 5:43, one guard call. You got guard calls on there? Here, right here…”

To learn about participating in a sandhill crane count, please visit our web site at www.pulseplanet.com. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I’m Jim Metzner.

Sandhill Cranes: Count

A Pulse of the Planet listener in Wisconsin is teaching his three young daughters how to spot Sandhill cranes, so they can participate in the annual crane count.
Air Date:04/27/2000
Scientist:
Transcript:

This time of year, millions of cranes are flying north on their annual spring migration. Amongst these travelers are hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes that spend the winter in the southern United States and Mexico are now returning to their breeding sites, scattered throughout the northern states, Canada and even on to Siberia. For one family in Wisconsin, the return of the sandhill cranes is a big event. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont.

"OK, now what we're going to be looking for a big bird, red spot on top of its head..red spot on its head, on its neck..."

Every year, Pulse of the Planet listener Dennis Lammert and his three young daughters spend a couple of early morning hours, sitting out in a field watching for sandhill cranes.

"When it flies, its wingtips go up instead of beat down like a Canadian goose.."

The Lammert family volunteers to help count sandhill cranes, which are thriving in Wisconsin, thanks to restoration of their wetland habitat. The crane count determines where the birds are settling, but it's also an educational experience. The Lammert girls are learning how to spot a sandhill crane by both its call and its body position in flight.

"Dad, what's that big bird? Let's see what we got here? Hear 'em? Now you hear 'em. That's their call. O.K., you want to mark down a call? What time is it? Let's see it's 5:43. So I put one crane? 5:43, one guard call. You got guard calls on there? Here, right here..."

To learn about participating in a sandhill crane count, please visit our web site at www.pulseplanet.com. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I'm Jim Metzner.