Sandhill Cranes are the favorite bird of many bird watchers. We remember when cranes were rare in the early 1970s and are now very common. Cranes begin breeding when they are two and three years old. Usually two eggs are laid and most broods only have one colt survive to fledging at 10 weeks old.

The average lifespan for cranes as reported in “Birds of the World’ by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is seven years. In “Birds of the World '', the oldest Sandhill Crane in the mid-continent population was reported as 19.4 years old. However, Jeff Lang, wildlife technician with the DNR set a new mid-continent longevity record when he found a recently deceased, banded crane at the White River Marsh Wildlife Area in Green Lake County this spring that turned out to be 30 years old! The bird was banded as a chick in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest 63 miles to the southeast.

Goose Pond

We were thinking how nice it would be for everyone to watch a crane nest hatch and follow the family through the summer on the Goose Pond Cam. Cranes prefer to nest in areas with deep water on muskrat houses. The wetland habitat at Goose Pond in 2022 was not ideal since Goose Pond lacked muskrat houses and the water was very shallow.

On March 14, 2022, the DNR Project Snapshot photographed a pair of cranes near our wetlands scrapes, south of the Kampen Road residence. We were excited when Peter Leege, a volunteer who helps run our Pond Cam, found the a Goose Pond Sandhill Crane nest with one egg on March 31 in the wetland scrapes. Every night, Peter had the camera focused on the nest. Two eggs were present on April 4. On April 21 we saw that the nest was predated and abandoned and the cranes were seen in the morning eating the egg shells that are high in calcium.

A Sandhill Crane pair that probably nested about 100 yards from the pond cam. Photo taken from a trail camera in March. *Photo provided by Snapshot Wisconsin*

We were disappointed but knew that it was early in the nesting season and that the pair would renest.

Through the pond cam, Peter observed a pair of Sandhill Cranes mating on May 14 and two days later two eggs were visible in a new nest again in the wetland scrapes. We had our fingers crossed and turned on the pond cam every morning to see the pair survived the night. Unfortunately on May 29, the camera recorded that the nest was predated by a coyote around 3:00 a.m, at 5:00 a.m. a raccoon visited the nest, and around 7:00 a.m. the pair of cranes was at the nest site feeding on the egg shells.

On May 29, Peter found a third nest with eggs that was under previous construction on the west shoreline of the west pond. This nest was also not in ideal habitat and was predated on June 1.

While this predation is disappointing to observe, we understand it is part of the natural cycle of life and all animals need to eat. Coyotes are mammals native to Wisconsin, just as Sandhill Cranes are native birds. We will keep our fingers crossed for the cranes to successfully raise young at Goose Pond next year.

Wildland

Our Wildland cabin is 13 miles north of Goose Pond near Rio. Usually we have three Sandhill Crane pairs breeding in the 87-acres of restored wetland that has plenty of muskrat houses and three feet of water in some areas.

A family of Sandhill Cranes with two colts was recorded on our DNR Snapshot Wisconsin camera on May 18. The camera is about 50 yards from the wetland on a mowed trail between two wooded areas that goes to a prairie restoration.

In the first half of June we always had two colts with two adults. However, in July we only saw one adult with one colt on the camera over 21 days. Beginning August 1 the camera photographed a new pair with one young, the adult with one young, and a pair with no young. young. We believe that one young survived from each pair and one adult was killed.

A Sandhill Crane family with two colts in May 2022. *Photo provided by Snapshot Wisconsin*

A pair of Sandhill Cranes with one colt that first appeared on August 1. *Photo provided by Snapshop Wisconsin*

One adult and one colt at Wildland. We believe the other adult was killed. *Photo provided by Snapshot Wisconsin*

We believe that coyotes can also prey on colts and maybe on adults trying to protect their young with a display distraction to draw attention away from the young. The camera also recorded coyotes on the following nights—May 21, July 7 (2 coyotes), and August 16. No coyotes were photographed during the daytime along the lane used by the cranes.

A coyote photographed at Wildland on July 1, 2022. *Photo provided by Snapshot Wisconsin*

It is nice that Sandhill Cranes can live for many years and we hope the Goose Pond Sandhill Cranes find suitable nesting habitat in 2023.

Thanks to the DNR’s Project Snapshot for providing the cameras, to Peter Leege for operating our Goose Pond Cam, and to JD Arnston for making clips from the Goose Pond Cam.

Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary resident managers

Cover photo by Arlene Koziol