DECATUR, Ala. (AP) – In flooded agricultural fields near the Tennessee River, tens of thousands of cranes stand high among broken corn stalks and shallow water in search of corn, berries, seeds and insects.
The sound and sight of so many cranes grouped together creates a chorus of trills, trumpets and honks throughout the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Center in northern Alabama during the winter.
The annual migration of sandhill cranes brings birdwatchers in droves for up-close views of the large birds, but also the chance to glimpse the rare and endangered whooping cranes that migrate to Wheeler in much smaller numbers. In addition to the cranes, many other birds can be seen at Wheeler, including geese, ducks, bald eagles, kestrels and hawks.
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“It’s a birdwatcher’s paradise,” noted park ranger David Young.
The cranes, with their distinctive red foreheads and gray feathers, fly to Alabama annually from the Great Lakes. The sandhill cranes began wintering at Wheeler starting in the mid-1990s and numbers increased dramatically in the mid-2000s, Young said. Last year, the population of sandhill cranes wintering near Wheeler reached a new record of 30,000 cranes.
“Here in the Tennessee Valley we have three things that these cranes need,” Young said. “The wide open fields here around our visitor center. The remaining crops and the natural foods they like to forage in those fields. And then the open mudflats and shallow waters of the Tennessee River and its tributaries.”
The refuge has become a hotspot for birdwatchers to break out the binoculars and get even closer to the 4-foot-tall cranes, while visitors remain hidden behind photography curtains and a two-level observation center. An annual Crane Festival in January brings more attention and visitors.
The cranes put on an impressive show, dancing on their slender legs, flapping their wings and raising their long beaks in the air to purr and squawk as they interact.
Diana Maybury-Sharp, from Birmingham, regularly comes to Wheeler with friends to walk and watch birds.
“It’s pretty extraordinary. I’ve seen them in other parts of the country where there were only a few,” Maybury-Sharp said. “They’re not as vocal as they are here. There are so many here that it is an unusual experience.”
The whooping cranes, part of the eastern migratory population that comes from Wisconsin, began migrating to Alabama in 2004 and their population numbers about between 12 and 20 each winter, Young said.
Cranes were nearly wiped out in the early 20th century by hunters and habitat loss due to agriculture. According to the International Crane Foundation, recovery and reintroduction efforts have slowly increased their wild and captive populations to more than 800.
Migratory cranes depend on freshwater marsh habitats in Texas and the Southeast, which could be affected by rising sea levels and droughts, according to the foundation.
They are sometimes difficult to see among the smaller group of sandhills, but their height and white feathers make them stand out. Young said the cranes’ migration patterns may change depending on the climate trends of both their nesting locations and their winter homes.
“It’s hard to say how long they will spend the winter here in northern Alabama,” Young said. “And maybe in the future they might not have to come so far south. But for now, we’re really enjoying their presence and making sure that we provide that habitat for them and that people can view them here as well.”
Rob Broeren from Huntsville brought his telephoto lens and camera and found a good place to practice his hobby of nature photography. He comes to the shelter about ten times a year to photograph the birds and ducks.
“You just have to be patient and wait until they do something interesting and call,” Broeren said. “You get that cool photo and that’s a good day.”
Broeren was scouting locations for friends who were from out of town and wanted a chance to see the rarest cranes.
“Birdwatchers are great at seeing lots of different birds,” says Broeren. “And so people who haven’t seen this species yet, because it’s quite rare, are willing to drive quite a distance if they think they’ll get a good shot of it.”
The sandhill cranes will leave the refuge in mid-February. Young said he notices much more excitement and activity when the birds signal they are ready to make the journey back to their breeding grounds.
“Usually it’s on a day when we have some kind of southerly wind,” Young said. “They are smart and ride the wind back to their breeding grounds when it suits them best.”