Thursday, February 6, 2014

Sandhill Cranes, Tennessee River Near Decatur, Tennessee February 5, 2014



SANDHILL CRANES

Migration route
 Fair use for non-profit news and information reporting. Images and graphics courtesy of Wikipedia and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

Information
Though the Sandhill Crane is not considered threatened as a species, the three southernmost subspecies are quite rare. While the migratory birds could at least choose secure breeding habitat, the resident populations could not, and many subpopulations were destroyed by hunting or habitat change. However, initially the Greater Sandhill crane proper suffered most from persecution; by 1940 probably fewer than 1,000 birds remained. They have since increased greatly again, though with nearly 100,000 individuals they are still less plentiful than the Lesser Sandhill Crane, which numbers over 400,000 individuals, making the species the most plentiful crane alive today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhill_Crane

Status in Tennessee: The Sandhill Crane is an uncommon migrant and locally common winter resident in Tennessee, though numbers appear to be increasing. Fall migration lasts from late October to late December and spring migration is from mid-February through late March. A few thousand cranes have also been wintering at Hop-In Refuge in Obion County, and over ten thousand on and around the Hiwassee Refuge in Meigs County. http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/details.cfm?displayhabitat=&sort=aounumber&typename=TENNESSEE'S&uid=09041920365647973&commonname=Sandhill%20Crane

SANDHILL CRANE VIDEO BY GARRY MORGAN

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