2010 Crane Counts
2010SANDHILL CRANES COUNTED THE EVENING OF: APRIL 2010Thursday, April 15 Wednesday, April 14 30 Cranes were found by J Wallace the morning of the of the 15th up on the Figure 4 Ranch I don’t know – You will start to see a pattern here – I don’t expect to see any more cranes of any sugnificant number so when it warms up I am drawn towards vineyard and other farm work. I’ll keep making cursory checks to maybe document the last day of crane(s) stops at Fruitgrowers Reservoir Tuesday, April 13 0 Cranes 9 Cranes were found by J Wallace the morning of the of the 14th on the Figure 4 Ranch Monday, April 12 0 Cranes (Later, J. Wallace reported he managed to find 5) Sunday, April 11 70 Cranes Saturday, April 10 210 Cranes. Friday, April 9 I just found an email from J. Wallace and he estimated 850 Cranes – with more small groups landing while he left the reservoir this evening. 500 Cranes? The White Pelicans are back at the reservoir. Thursday, April 8 1.800 Cranes Or perhaps a cool 2,000. In previous years I would have said THIS has got to be the last big group of the season. But I won’t. But Tomorrow morning has got to be one of the best liftoffs! Wednesday, April 7 400 to 500 Cranes A special night Tuesday, April 6 280 Cranes – Likely returnees from this morning’s liftoff. Monday, April 5 600 to 700 Cranes. (J.Wallace) Sunday, April 4 27 Cranes Saturday, April 3 180 Cranes made it through this evening. Friday, April 2 77 Cranes. The weather forecast from Monte Vista suggests Saturday may be a good day for cranes. Thursday, April 1 1,300 to 1,400 Cranes. The “cars at liftoff index” confirms that the weather today was miserable. This morning, the number of cranewatcher cars to the number of cranes was the smallest I’ve seen in years. I don’t know if tonight’s birds tried to fly and returned or if they just stayed put – I’d be surprised if these were “new” birds. Wednesday, March 31 2000? – Would you believe it? This is among the most difficult conditions in which to count Cranes. This impossible wind blew them in many small groups. They came in early and kept coming. They hunkered in tighter groups among the cattails and brush seeking relief from the constant high winds. Given the nature of the winds and the forecast for rain, who knows what liftoff will be like in the morning . . . and when? Tuesday, March 30 500 Cranes (E. Horn) Monday, March 29 800 Cranes tonight This morning’s liftoff was wonderful. Note: For those of you who got a Water Conservancy District page when you went to eckertcranedays.com, we apologize. In addition to doing my own website work I also do my own plumbing and some days I’m afraid to flush the toilet! And to those of you who took the Grand Mesa Water Conservancy District announcement to heart, if you come to the meeting you will not see any cranes. Sunday, March 28 2,750 Cranes. So says Evey and I don’t doubt it. Wow! This could be the biggest night of the season. – Certainly the prettiest with the rising near-full moon behind the landing cranes. Saturday, March 27 4 (Up on the Figure 4 Ranch) A great day of presentations sponsored by Colorado Art Ranch. Many Thanks. Friday, March 26 700 +/- Cranes from a quick assessment at 5:30 p.m. I’ll check with Evelyn later in the evening and defer to her count at that point. EVELYN AGREED WITH THE 700 p.s. Saw my first Western Grebes Thursday, March 25 1,200 to 1,300 Cranes. What a difference a day makes !!! Wednesday, March 24 0 Cranes Today was the first day of zero ice on the Reservoir – what ice that was there this morning was gone this evening. Tuesday, March 23 190 Cranes I saw about 115 (+/- 5) around 6:00 pm. The rest were late arrivals spotted by Evelyn. Monday, March 22 90 Cranes – all reletively later arrivals. Today, according to conventional wisdom, was a perfect day day for hundreds of cranes. A winter front is supposed to be coming tomorrow and be in the region through the day. What could THAT possible mean? Sunday, March 21 0 (or 1) Somebody reported they saw 1 crane but neither I nor those I talked to at the Reservoir saw any. Saturday, March 20 7 Cranes. I am sure glad I didn’t bet money on the count today. And my apologies to those at the afternoon Crane Days presentation when I suggested it might be a good evening to watch the cranes land. Friday, March 19 320 Cranes. Thank you Evelyn. Note: This storm front was not enough to keep last night’s cranes on the ground. It’s partly sunny -the other 30% and not the 70% chance of rain according the the NWS – which is also showing on their website that there isn’t much in the way of prohibitive weather between here and Monte Vista, should the cranes decide to leave the San Luis Valley today. Thursday, March 18 700. All in the NW wetlands tonight. Wednesday, March 17 650 +/- 33 800* Beautiful, quiet sunset. Before sunset most of the Cranes were in Velas’ fields West of the reservior. But it was one of those nights where the cranes flew low and noisily back over North Road into the wetlands on the Figure 4 Ranch as long dark shadows backed by a pink and orange sky. Morning note: I was not able to count the cranes this morning to confirm the 500 number from last night. J.Wallace thought there were 400 at 8:00 a.m. but they were bunched up at that point and not easy to count. 400 to 500 cranes (maybe a little more) My latest report (decided to caucus with the cranes and not the party) is that lots of smaller groups came in after 5:30. Many landed into areas with denser cover and then later flew over to different locations. By dark it was certain we weren’t going to see all of them for a precise number. Still, 500+/- cranes is respectable. Monday, March 15 <100. Strange evening for counting – several small groups (the largest I saw was 33.) They kept moving from one area to another and it was hard to keep track – even with all the help out there. Followup – This morning the concensus was that there were 40 cranes- although we saw perhaps twice that flying and landing. This brings up the notion of accuracy – the point of this page is first to give you a sense of how many cranes you may expect to see the next morning. Regarding the accuracy of the actual numbers of birds, we try to fix any mistaken estimates whenever we can. Sunday, March 14 125 +/- Cranes this evening – I didn’t get there until late. I don’t know if these were new birds or if they returned after turning back from the heavy overcast over the Grand Mesa. – It generally was a cold rainy heavy overcast day. [Jim W. wrote by email: I counted 180 cranes this evening, Sunday the 14th. Looks like the weather kept most of the birds here.] Saturday, March 13 160 +/- at 6:00 (7:00 pm Daylight Savings) [We were informed at the Winery/Gallery today that there were 190 Cranes Saturday evening. Won’t argue with that – there very well could have been that many. The cranes were on the West shore and fields at Vela’s. Dave Galinat gets the heads-up award for the season. Friday, March 12 Evening A noticeably large part of the reservoir ice became liquid during the day. This long cold Winter has imposed a false patience – we (I) need an affirmation of cranes so that Spring will start! Morning If the skies stay clear, will tonight be the first evening of migrants? (This morning- one time I thought I heard Cranes, but saw none – were some local cranes messing with me or is the anticipation playing with my mind’s ear?) More, later Thursday, March 11 Good Morning. It’s been zero so far. I know I said I’d start this kind of update before now, but though it’s been a bit warmer, the weather still does not suggest the migration will crane up. So, we’ll see what happens this evening Sunday, March 7 – Good Afternoon. Those of you who live at a distance will have to forgive our slow start to our Crane Count narrative. Winter came early here and has stayed in a fashion we are not used to. I am not aware of any Sandhill Crane activity at Fuitgrowers Reservoir. (I may have missed something and will relay any information I that others want to provide.) So from Tuesday on I’ll start logging in a crane count – even if it’s a zero. – Jim PARKING: PLEASE find a place to park that is off the pavement and PLEASE do not set up your tripods on the pavement! The Sheriff’s Department join many of us with concern about safety from less than responsible behavior on the county road (drivers and bird watchers) while crane watching is going on. Thanks.
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PARKING: PLEASE find a place to park that is off the pavement and PLEASE do not set up your tripods on the pavement! The Sheriff’s Department join many of us with concern about safety from less than responsible behavior on the county road (drivers and bird watchers) while crane watching is going on. Thanks.OTHER BIRD SPECIES SIGHTED 2010 at, or adjacent to, the RESERVOIR: Great Blue Heron American Bald Eagle Mallard Canada Goose (2 sizes) Western Meadowlark Common Merganser Redhead American Coot Green-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck American Wigeon Northern Shoveler Golden Eagle Red-tailed Hawk Mountain Bluebird Downy Woodpecker Gadwall Killdeer Cinnamon Teal Pintail Robin Red-winged Blackbird Mourning Dove Northern Harrier Hairy Woodpecker Song Sparrow Ring-billed Gull Double-crested Cormorant Sora? American Kestrel Bufflehead Swainson’s Hawk Eurasion Collared Dove Common Goldeneye Black-billed Magpie Yellow-headed Blackbird Western Grebe Greater Yellowlegs (If you don’t agree I’ll send you Nancy’s phone number) American Avocet American White Pelican White-faced IbisA good on-line bird ID guide: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search |