Sandhill Crane Families Stick Together

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Sandhill Crane Families Stick Together

Written by Conor Gearin

This is BirdNote. 

    [Sandhill Crane roost calls]

Sandhill Cranes are famous for gathering in the tens of thousands during spring migration in Nebraska. They roost overnight in shallow prairie rivers. Then in the early morning, they take off.

    [Sandhill Crane calls get louder then fade]

Within these massive gatherings of cranes are many smaller groups: tight-knit family units. A pair of adults might travel north with their young from the previous summer, along with grown-up offspring from several years ago.

[Sandhill Crane flight calls]

In the summer, cranes find places to nest in wetlands and open areas throughout the northern U.S. and Canada. They’ll raise up to three chicks over the season. 

[Sandhill Crane calls]

Sandhill Crane families form a close bond. They typically will stick together for the journey south and the winter, even in large flocks. The parents will often stay together for the rest of their lives.

[Sandhill Crane calls]

Cranes may even recognize family members from many years ago. Researchers once observed that two twenty-year-old brothers and their mates formed a family group for the fall and winter. After decades, the family tie still held strong.  

For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Sandhill Crane ML164683 recorded by Gerrit Vyn, Sandhill Crane ML89890691 recorded by Paul Marvin, and Sandhill Crane ML166960341 recorded by John Patterson.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote July 2023
Narrator: Ariana Remmel

ID# SACR-04-2023-07-31    SACR-04

Reference:
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/sancra/cur/introduction