Sunrise view at Goose Pond Sanctuary during the 2025 Midwest Crane Count (photo by Graham Steinhauer/SoWBA).
The annual Crane Count, coordinated by the International Crane Foundation, was held on April 12. The dawn winds were calm, with a clear sky, and 29°F. The count began at 5:30AM and ran until 7:30AM. It was a beautiful morning to count cranes and enjoy the wetland birds. Mark Martin and Sue Foote-Martin have been counting cranes since 1978 and always look forward to it. Thanks to Joy Eriksen, who coordinated the crane count in Columbia County, and to all the crane counters.
Erstad Prairie and USFWS Schoeneberg Marsh Waterfowl Production Area (Site #124/151)
Written by Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond land steward
Since March, Schoeneberg Marsh and the pond at Erstad Prairie have been harboring many species of waterfowl that are partial to larger water bodies. Lesser Scaup, Redheads, and other divers were abundant. Goose Pond staff led a field trip for 20 students from the Waterfowl Ecology class from UW-Stevens Point on March 29 and found 24 species including 230 Ring-necked Ducks, 60 Gadwall, 30 American Wigeon, and others. The 100 tree swallows were in migration, and maybe a little early.
The site has apparently been popular with cranes since then, with 50 individuals recorded by David Beavan and Anne Mosher on the crane count. We assume that many of them were birds that are too young to breed but many may form pair bonds this summer. Flocks of unpaired cranes in the summer are called bachelor flocks.
Goose Pond Sanctuary (Site #169)
Written by Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond land steward
It’s a real pleasure to witness the waking of the world in spring. The stepwise chronology of who-sings-first happens every day now, but it feels extra special to turn the tables on birds during the Crane Count considering that they almost always rise earlier than I do. I listened from the top of the hill which overlooks Goose Pond as White-crowned Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlarks, Ring-necked Pheasants, Fox Sparrows, and others offered their contribution to the general soundscape. The sun inched above the horizon and I realized that not a single crane had provided its input to the conversation.
Flock of Sandhill Cranes at Goose Pond Sanctuary in 2017 (photo by Monica Hall).
No cranes?! Last year I counted 95 individuals and two pairs calling in unison from the same location. Finally after 7AM, I heard a single crane in the distance. There wasn’t any crane enthusiasm for nesting, but I didn’t get a zero for the count either. To my human eye, higher water offers better for nesting sites this year than last year. Maybe their absence results from a lack of muskrat houses for cranes to nest on or the recent avian influenza outbreak in Indiana. Maybe there’s a completely different reason or no reason at all (who knows, I’m not a crane). While I did miss the cranes, it was still a pleasant morning filled with many creatures and a lovely sunrise.
Otsego Marsh (Site #168)
Written by Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond land steward
Otsego Marsh is a great spot for Sandhill Crane families. There is plenty of space to forage, lots of cover for colts, and abundant tussocks and muskrat houses where cranes can nest. Deb Wearne-Neurohr and Steve Wearne counted three pairs calling in unison and one flying over for seven total individuals. In most years, cranes can be seen nesting near the road and patrolling nearby fields. The prospect of three nests is exciting, but Otsego Marsh has much more activity than crane business.
A female Wood Duck on a nest box at Otsego Marsh (photo by Mark Martin).
There are 16 duck boxes at Otsego Marsh, and I checked four of those to get a rough idea of occupancy. Three boxes averaged about nine wood duck eggs, and the fourth had five Hooded Merganser eggs and four Wood Duck eggs. Cavities at Otsego seem to be a hot commodity for ducks this year. While Emma Raasch and I were doing trailwork on April 11, we submitted an eBird checklist with 10 Golden-crowned Kinglets, two Rusty Blackbirds, and 70 Ring-necked Ducks. Mark and Sue’s checklist from later on the 11th contains 103 Northern Shovelers and 70 Bonaparte’s Gulls. Two days later, I was lucky enough to hear a Common Raven around sunrise, a first for me at Otsego Marsh.
Wildland (Site #129)
Written by Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond sanctuary managers
Wildland, an area protected with a Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance conservation easement we own, includes 87 acres of restored wetlands. This year, 12 Sandhill Cranes were found in the wetlands including one pair calling in unison in the middle of the marsh. Eight other cranes were calling outside the site. We found 40 species during the count and completed an eBird report.
Trumpeter Swan trio at Wildland during the 2025 Midwest Crane Count (photo by Mark Martin).
The highlight of the morning was two pairs of Trumpeter Swans and one immature on open water near the weir. One pair was in courtship display and chased a possible offspring from last year away so they could resume courtship. In addition there was a pair calling from a restored wetland .75 miles to the south. It is amazing to have wetlands that were cropland at the turn of the century now restored and providing nesting habitat for Trumpeter Swans and Sandhill Cranes.
Rowan Creek State Fishery Area and Hiking Trail (Site #159)
Written by Emma Raasch, Goose Pond ecological restoration technician
At this count location, Miles Roth and I were nestled in between large oak trees to the south and towering pine trees to the north. Without a wide-open marsh or pond to do our counting, we relied on our ears and sense of direction to estimate the number of cranes in our survey area. We counted eight Sandhill Cranes total, two of which we saw and heard flying over just minutes before the count was over (last year, we estimated ten Sandhill Cranes at this location).
While waiting for the calls of cranes, we admired the other birds singing, flying over, and flitting about our count area. We recorded 32 species, but our highlights were listening to the Wilson’s Snipes and American Woodcocks at the start of the count, and watching Northern Flickers building and guarding their nest in a cavity of a large snag.
For more on cranes, read our feature from 2019 on the crane count or our 2022 feature on crane nesting success. You can also listen to a recent Natural Wonders segment on WDRT where Maggie Jones reads “Marshland Elegy,” an essay by Aldo Leopold focused on cranes, in addition to a letter to the editor against a proposed Sandhill Crane hunting season written by Tim Eisele, Dave Clausen, and Mark Martin.
Written and compiled by Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond land steward; Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond sanctuary managers; and Emma Raasch, Goose Pond ecological restoration technician.
