ILLINOIS— One crane, two cranes, three cranes … No, counting cranes isn’t a new take on counting sheep to help yourself fall asleep at night. It’s how volunteers on the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie spent their early morning recently as part of the International Crane Foundation’s Annual Midwest Crane Count.

The annual survey of sandhill and whooping cranes spans more than 90 counties across seven states in the upper Midwest. The prairie was asked to join the annual crane count to add survey sites along the Illinois River Valley area. 

According to Michael Redmer, supervisory natural resources manager on the prairie, for about 25 years, sandhill cranes have been expanding their breeding range in Illinois southward from a larger core population in Wisconsin. Though the prairie is now well within the southern edge of that expansion, staff have not confirmed this charismatic species is breeding there. 

“Cranes like a mix of shallow wetlands and grasslands, and because Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie has a lot of both habitats, we are interested in confirming sandhill cranes as a breeding species here,” said Redmer. “Participation in the crane count was a natural fit for our natural resources program, and volunteer partnership with The Nature Conservancy.”

Five teams of two volunteer surveyors got an early start, counting cranes from 5:30 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. Four teams recorded sandhill crane activity. 

“Even for a one-day survey, it takes a lot of thoughtful time and communication for logistics to be safe and seamless,” said Allison Cisneros, prairie project manager with The Nature Conservancy in Illinois. 

In addition to the overall goal of documenting crane presence and behavior, other potential goals of the count include determining how many nests found are successful through the summer and attracting interest in cranes and the important areas that can support them.

Special thanks to volunteers Frank Ibarra, Kim Shehorn, Greg DuBois, Fritz Bartels, Mary Hufnagl, Kay Sandacz, Rich Hickson, Vinsel, Cindy Alberico and Glenn Johnson.