Sandhill Cranes an Unusual Success Story OTHELLO, WA (OPB) - (Oregon Considered) - It's one of the surefire signs of spring--and sounds of spring. Tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes are on the move to breeding grounds in northern Canada and Alaska. Right now the regal birds can be seen at their regular pit stops in eastern Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Sandhill Cranes have bounced back nicely from a low-point at mid-century, making them an unusual environmental success story. Tom Banse reports from Othello, Washington.
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In groups of twos and threes, huge birds glide across the setting sun in search of a roost for the night. Other cranes arrive at a shallow lake in V-formation a dozen or more strong.

Their height --four feet tall--fluffy gray feathers and bright red foreheads identify them as Sandhill Cranes. Birdwatchers Frank Hein and Terry Bassett drove from Seattle and now watch entranced.

Terry Bassett: "They're just so wonderful. I mean artistically, their necks and the way they fly and everything, it's just amazing."

Frank Hein: "We come back every year because there's something about that call, just really eerie, very primal. I just love it."

Farming and irrigation in this formerly arid plain seems to benefit the Sandhill Cranes. Federal wildlife biologist Randy Hill observes a steady increase in crane numbers around Othello.

Asked what accounts for the birds' success when so many other species are declining, Hill answers they're adaptable.

Randy Hill: "They're obviously stopping here more because of the grain crops and the foraging opportunities that they have. They've adapted to agricultural development and agriculture, yeah. They're taking advantage of the grain, the waste grain."

Last year, Hill says he counted 11,000 of the birds gleaning one harvested cornfield. That's a big change from the early 1900's when widespread hunting greatly reduced crane numbers.

Draining of wetlands for development also took a toll. Bans on hunting and habitat set asides helped turn things around. Seattle's Tom Hoffmann of the International Crane Foundation says Sandhill Cranes retain federal protection, but are not endangered.

Tom Hoffmann: "To the best of our understanding is that the populations are continuing to build and the numbers are going up. But not at a terrific level and certainly not at a level where we can be complacent and sit back and figure that our mission is accomplished."

Hoffmann says it is important to preserve remaining bottomlands on the lower
Columbia River and the wintering grounds in California's Central Valley.

The cranes have undeniable charisma. All kinds of people flocked to the small central Washington town of Othello for this year's 7th annual Sandhill Crane Festival. Biologists and local farmers teamed up to present three days of lectures, movies, and crane viewing tours.

In Idaho, Sandhill Cranes have rebounded so well, they bring a new set of problems. Farmers are complaining about crop losses.

Steve Bouffard, manager of the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Idaho, says hungry cranes can "make a mess" of an un-harvested field. So the 2004 federal budget includes permanent funding to pay for the planting of decoy crops.

Steve Bouffard: "If they know they can come to this field every year, there's food there and it's safe, nobody harasses them, they'll come back. So, that's the concept behind a lure crop. Grow crops for them. Put it in the same place every year. Scare them from everyplace else and those numbers will increase where you want 'em and they'll stay out of farmers' crops."

If all this makes you curious, here are some places to see Sandhill Cranes: In Idaho, go north from Boise toward New Meadows. In Washington, call the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge. And in Oregon, prime viewing spots include the Klamath Basin and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Burns, Oregon holds its migratory bird festival this coming weekend. The organizers recommend advance reservations to get on the best bird viewing tours.

Sandhill Crane primer

Othello Sandhill Crane Festival © Copyright 2012, OPB