Looking Back: Sandhill Cranes & Bluebirds

MIDWEST CRANES, YESTERDAY AND TODAY 

Coordinated with the April/May 2005 The Audubon Outlook, 30th Anniversary Year publication.  

Were you ever outside on a particularly beautiful day in Spring or Fall and heard a strange, harsh gurgling or bugling sound coming from above? You might have searched the highest skies and glimpsed the sandhill cranes that were making their determined way to another portion of the U.S. for nesting or a winter retreat. Here in the Midwest, these Sandhill Cranes are known as the Eastern Population.  According to the Nature Conservancy, they pass through the Chicago region with destinations in Florida, Texas and northern Mexico.  

Some bird enthusiasts call those calls Flight Purrs that occur only while in flight. There are various other names for the prehistoric calls you might hear such as rattling, trumpeting, bugling, and other descriptive sounds. 

Fossil records affirm that Sandhills were present on the earth as long ago as 2.5 million years and are the “oldest living bird species on the planet.”  (Montana Natural History Center.) 

These magnificent birds’ numbers dramatically declined in the 19th century due to a market for hunting them for food as well as destruction of their wetland habitats because of humans’ agricultural demands. There were only several thousand sandhill cranes left in the eastern US by the 1940s. (Project Upland (projectupland.com). The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 led to federal protection of the crane population in some of the Midwest states.  

Habitat restoration followed, especially wetland preservation, along with strong efforts to breed the birds in captivity. The International Crane Foundation took a leading role in the captive breeding program that followed. This included replicating the adult sandhills teaching their young to learn the first migration trip by “imprinting captivity-raised chicks on ultra-light aircraft and guiding the birds on the 1,200 miles flight to Florida.”  

Much progress has been made in determining the success of restoration of their population. The Eastern Population is monitored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with a range of 90,000-107,000 birds. It’s estimated that 1.45 million is the total population of Sandhill Cranes in North America. 

Visit LCAS’ April/May 2005 30th Anniversary issue of The Audubon Outlook with the article Crane Count of 2004 on page 2.

See what a difference has been made for the Sandhill Crane population through the efforts of caring humans.  

Submitted by: Chris Geiselhart

BLUEBIRD COMPARISON ARTICLE 

by Jack Nowak  

In the 30th Anniversary Year of Lake County Audubon Society, an article was written in the April/May 2005 Audubon Outlook titled “Bluebird Report for 2004 Nesting Season” by Walt Sivertsen. (See Link to Article). Walt was the Bluebird Coordinator for Lake County for many years. He would support the monitors and collect and compile their data at the end of the nesting season. His article goes on to say that the bluebirds fledged over 1000 babies from monitored trails in Lake County in 2004. 

I can tell you this record still stands. Walt passed on his duties to me in 2019, and I’ve been supporting the monitors ever since. The earliest nesting data I found was in 1998, which reported 595 bluebirds fledged from 800 boxes in Lake County. Over the years the number of trails and boxes may increase or decrease due to such factors as changes in habitat.

Each April monitors get ready to welcome back the bluebirds. Hopefully, the bluebirds made it through the winter and find the shelter and food supply they need to nest and start their first brood. Bluebirds aren’t the only cavity nesters in Lake County. Tree Swallows, which are the most abundant cavity nesters, Black-capped Chickadees, and House Wrens may nest in the boxes and are also monitored. The English or House Sparrow is a non-native aggressive bird that we do not want to attract. 

At the end of the nesting season in September the data is collected and compiled. The final report is sent to the Lake County Forest Preserves to be stored for any historical research. This data is also shared with the East Central Illinois Bluebird Society and then with the North American Bluebird Society (NABS). 

There are many advocates for bluebirds in Lake County including the Lake County Audubon Society which continues to be a strong supporter of these efforts.

Submitted by: Jack Nowak, Bluebird Coordinator for Lake County