Sandhill Crane Observatory

Oh, my goodness! Have you ever returned to a place from your early life, and been completely surprised by what you didn't appreciate?

I knew that Northern Indiana had a great migration of Sandhill Cranes flying through every spring and summer. My dad would often return from his gas route, and tell me he had seen Sandhill Cranes out in some field along his route. Cool! What I didn't know was Northern Indiana actually has a Sandhill Crane Observatory in, of all places, one of the towns I grew up in! Wheatfield, IN! (sorry, no wheat there, though!)


Are you kidding me? The place is, like, 5 minutes from a home I lived in! I had no clue!

My dear mother took me to the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area, where we were lucky enough to see several dozen Sandhill Cranes feeding in a mowed field. I was just amazed!

A pair flying in.

My mom said that my visit was a bit early for the migration season. I guess come October, the entire field is filled with Sandhill Cranes. Thousands of people from all over the world flock to watch these beauties. Wow! I really had no idea.


I've seen Sandhill Cranes before as an official birder around the Salton Sea, CA, but to get to enjoy them this way in my hometown was special. The most interesting things I learned on this day was how they live in pairs. Mating pairs were always within a few feet of each other.

A trail leading to the observation deck, had interesting Sandhill Crane trivia. Do you know the answer to this one? Answer is at the bottom.

The Sandhill Cranes are currently migrating from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan to Georgia and Florida, where they will raise their young. What a privilege it was see them!

Thanks for sharing this with me, Mom!

It is estimated that anywhere from 12,000 to 16,000 Sandhill Cranes stopover in Indiana. Wow!

We also saw 18 White-tailed Deer sprinting across the field. The cranes didn't care a bit.

The answer the trivia question above is C) 7 ft. Can you believe it? The are only 3 1/2 ft. tall, but have a wingspan of 7ft. Crazy cool!