Jasper/Pulaski Sandhill Crane Migration

[+2qwerqE]

My log at 'Sandhill' Cache

 

This cache, GCGYX8, by The M-Team is a must visit this time of year. Tens of thousands of sandhill cranes converge on this place in their annual migration, and there are very few places in the midwest to see anything like this. Hundreds of deer share the field, since the birds are protected and the deer can graze here without fear of being shot at.

 

Bring a long lens camera and/or binoculars. The action takes place about .3mi from the observation deck. But the cranes fly in overhead in long V's and massive flocks. Their song is fabulous, and I dare you not to grin when it fills the air around you.

 

Here's a pice fom last year's visit. Click the link above to see this year's pics. I got a great new tiny camera with a 10X zoom (Pansonic TZ1,) and this was it's maiden voyage. Oh, I think I'm in love!

 

 

Oh, heck: Here's a couple from this year:

 

 

 

 

So, go! You'll be glad you did.

Edited November 27, 2006 by 2qwerqE

[+sparkeeeee]

WoW!

 

That looks spectacular! How long does the migration last? If I get up there next weekend will I still see some cranes, or will it be too late already?

 

Sparkeeeee/Team A.C.E.

 

P.S. My parents live a few miles from Horicon Marsh in WI. That is pretty kewl too!

 

Sparkeeeee/Team A.C.E.

[Neos2]

http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/publication...nes.htm#updates

 

Greater sandhill cranes can be seen at J-P from late September through December. Crane numbers peak in mid-November.

 

Best bet -- magnificent, noisy flocks are usually seen at the northern Indiana property from mid-October through mid-December.

[+Team Shydog]

I went up there on Friday morning to do some cache maintenace. I took time to go see the cranes, this really is a great place to see. Thanks for sharing your pictures, they are wonderful like always.

Chris-Team Shydog

[Earthdog Patrick]

You are one fantastic photographer--we always enjoy looking at your work!!!

[+The Herd]

JP is a great place! I didn't know there was a cache there. I typically make an annual pilgrimage over there, but didn't make it this year. In recent years I have been lucky enough to see one of the Wisc. Whooping Cranes there. It's neat to see one white crane in a sea of 10,000.

 

Side note: Outdoor Indiana listed the 20 things every hoosier must see before they die, and the Jasper Pulaski cranes was the number one wildlife spectacle.

 

Brad

[winston24]

I do not live to far from there, about 15 miles as the Crane flies. Yes they are still here the radio station keeps talking about it. We have been out there several times and it is just so magnificent, something that you will never forget. The best time to go is in the evening when they are coming in for the night. There is so much information there that you will come away a Sandhill Crane professional. If you get up this way Also check the Kankakee Game Preserve not to far from there. It's at the intersection of highway 8 and highway 39. There is even more kinds of different birds that hang out there even more cranes. There is also a virtual cache there and soon to be more from me.

 

Shydog I think you are going to get your wish. I have to meet with the Property Manager 10:30 in the morning on hiding more caches at Tippicanoe River State Park. I hope it goes well. I'm almost out of room at the parks in Knox.

[+2qwerqE]

... In recent years I have been lucky enough to see one of the Wisc. Whooping Cranes there. It's neat to see one white crane in a sea of 10,000. Brad

 

There were two whooping cranes when we visited, but they were so distant that my pics were unredeemable(broke my heart, but it's another reason to go and try again,) It was cool to see them though, they really stand out in the crowd.

[+2qwerqE]

...Also check the Kankakee Game Preserve not to far from there. It's at the intersection of highway 8 and highway 39. There is even more kinds of different birds that hang out there even more cranes. There is also a virtual cache there and soon to be more from me.

 

Thanks for the tip; will have to check that out. Never heard of it before.

[+Team Shydog]

Shydog I think you are going to get your wish. I have to meet with the Property Manager 10:30 in the morning on hiding more caches at Tippicanoe River State Park. I hope it goes well. I'm almost out of room at the parks in Knox.

 

That is awsome news. Brad from The Herd had given me the property managers name to contact about placing geocaches there, I just have not had the time to folow thru with it. Good luck and I will look forward to finding the caches when/if they are placed.

Chris-Team Shydog

[+The Herd]

My first thought when I saw the photos was deja vous. However mine weren't as good, taken through my spotting scope in Oct 2004.

 

 

 

 

We have a cache here at Wing Haven (Your Boat or Ours) that almost didn't make it out in time for a meet and eat because a crane nest was 10 feet from the pier. Fortunately they were off the nest before we listed it. Should of named it after them! Coincidentally, it's on the same lake chain where the first sandhills re-nested in Indiana in the mid 1980s. Nesting sandhills all over northern Indiana today.