8 Interesting Sandhill Crane Facts to Know

Sandhill Crane Migration

Courtesy Cathy Bruha/Country magazine

Sandhill cranes move and spend winter in large groups. They’re sometimes spotted in the thousands. During migration, 75 percent of the total population of sandhill cranes can be found along a 75-mile stretch of the Platte River in Nebraska.

Check out more birding hotspots for spring sandhill crane migration.

Nests and Eggs

Courtesy William Nelson

Both parents build a nest from cattails, sedges and grasses, but it is unknown which parent chooses the nesting site. Nests can be up to 40 inches across and 6 inches high.

A female crane usually lays two pale-colored eggs with brown markings. She shares incubation duties with her mate for up to 32 days.

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Juvenile Sandhill Cranes

Courtesy David Heilman

Sandhill crane offspring can be ready to leave the nest and even start swimming just eight hours after they hatch. Although the chicks are independently mobile, they will stay with their parents up to 10 months after being born and follow them in migration.

Sandhill Cranes Are Prehistoric Birds

Courtesy Karen Jones

A sandhill crane fossil that was found in the Macasphalt Shell Pit in Florida and is estimated to be 2.5 million years old. Fossils found on the central flyway in Nebraska date back even further.

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Do Sandhill Cranes Mate for Life?

Courtesy Barbara Reams / Country magazine

Sandhill cranes mate for life and attract their partner via a courtship dance with moves like jumping into the air, bobbing their heads and stretching their wings to span up to 7 feet.

Sandhill Crane Flight Speed

Courtesy Peter Ponzio

During migration, these cranes may travel more than 200 miles a day. They’re fast fliers, reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.

Diet: What Does a Sandhill Crane Eat?

Courtesy Steven Thompson

Cranes are large, long-legged gray birds (up to 48 inches tall) with a distinctive red face patch, but don’t be afraid of them. Most of their diet (90 percent) is plant material, including waste grain, roots, berries, and nuts. Insects and snails are on the menu, too.

Sandhill Crane Sounds

These birds make a loud rattling call that is very distinctive. Listen for them during spring migration and look up to see them flying overhead.

Bird sounds courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology 

Next, learn about 10 egrets and herons found in North America.

Sources

• All About Birds – sandhill crane
• Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary – sandhill crane facts
• National Geographic