Environment DEC
From the August 2003 issue
DEC Records First Breeding of Sandhill Cranes in New York
A recent discovery at a Bird Conservation Area (BCA) within the Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in central New York provides the first substantial proof that sandhill cranes have successfully bred in the state.
Prior to the recent discovery of a pair of sandhill cranes with a chick, these birds had been sighted in New York mostly during migration periods that run from March through April and October through November. They had not, however, been known to breed in the state. Over the past few years, a pair of sandhill cranes had been observed at the Northern Montezuma WMA from spring through fall, raising the possibility that they were breeding.
Sightings of sandhill cranes have been on the increase throughout the northeast. They have been reported from Pennsylvania to Vermont and north into the Canadian province of Quebec.
Characteristics of the Sandhill Crane
An adult sandhill crane can be
identified by its red forehead
and white cheeks
(Photo courtesy of US Fish
and Wildlife Service)
Sandhill cranes, which are fairly widespread throughout the midwest, grow four to five feet tall, weigh nine and one-half to twelve pounds and have a wingspan of up to seven feet.
Adults are entirely gray except for a bare, red forehead and white cheeks, and are sometimes confused with great blue herons. Young sandhill cranes are brownish and lack a red forehead. They preen their feathers with vegetation and mud.
The trumpeting calls of sandhill cranes can sometimes be heard more than a mile away. They eat a variety of plants, insects, small animals and leftover grain following harvests of corn, wheat and barley.
Sandhill cranes mate for life. They migrate south to Georgia and Florida during the winter and return to northern areas each March to the same nest location. Nesting territories may range from 20 to 200 acres. Nests, which are large mounds of vegetation two to three feet in diameter, are built in marshes about three to five inches above water level.
The chicks are commonly called colts because they have well-developed legs and are capable of running within a day of hatching. They usually take flight at about the age of 10 weeks.
