Nothing else in Michigan sounds like a Sandhill Crane — a rolling, prehistoric bugle produced by a windpipe coiled inside the breastbone, audible more than a mile away. The birds match the voice: nearly four feet tall, elegant gray with a scarlet crown, often stained rusty from preening with iron-rich marsh mud. Pairs dance — leaping, bowing, and tossing vegetation — at any season.
Once reduced to a few dozen pairs in the state, Sandhill Cranes have rebounded spectacularly and now breed in wetlands across most of Michigan. In late October and November, thousands stage at gathering marshes before riding thermals south in bugling V's — one of the state's great wildlife spectacles.
An omnivorous forager: waste grain and seeds gleaned from fields, plus tubers, insects, frogs, snakes, and mice probed from wetlands and grasslands. Fall flocks feed heavily in harvested cornfields.
Southern Michigan's staging marshes — the Waterloo/Phyllis Haehnle Sanctuary area near Jackson and the Baker Sanctuary near Battle Creek are famous. Late October through Thanksgiving, arriving at dusk, is prime.
Cranes fly with necks fully extended and show a bustle of feathers over the tail when standing; Great Blue Herons fly with the neck folded in an S. If it's bugling, it's a crane — herons croak.
Dancing cements pair bonds — cranes mate for years, often for life — but birds of all ages dance in any month. Sometimes a whole flock catches the mood at once.
Most are gone by the end of November. They return in March, reach their highest numbers from April through October, and thin out steadily through late summer as birds head south.
A colt — one of the few birds whose young get a horse's name, earned by their long legs and habit of running. Colts are cinnamon-brown, follow the parents within a day of hatching, and stay with them for nearly a year, so fall flocks contain visible family groups.
A sedge or a siege in traditional usage. What matters more in Michigan is the fall staging flock — thousands gather at places like the Phyllis Haehnle Sanctuary in October and November before moving south, and their bugling carries for miles.
Other birds you might be looking at instead.
Pick the park — it takes less than ten seconds.
Start typing the bird's name, then pick it from the list.
Suggest a birding spot to add to the map. I'll review it before it appears.
Thanks! Your suggestion has been sent for review.
Found something wrong or out of date? Tell me what to fix — it goes straight to my inbox. (No email needed.)
Thank you — your note is on its way. I appreciate the help keeping this accurate.