SANDHILL CRANES 
COUNTED THE EVENING OF:

MARCH 2005

 3  100+ (Our first "official" group!)
 4  125
 5   700 - 750
 6   100 - 125
 7    75
 8    1
 9    1000+
10   150
11    2,500 (there may have been 
            as many as 3,000)
12    600 + 
13    700
14    15 - Cold front coming in from
         the South
         (holdovers from yesterday?)
15     0 - It's still cold
16    100
17     0 
18     0  - Damn!
19     1,700 
20     Very overcast and stormy  
         conditions surrounding
          the area today.  This evening             we had about
          1,500 (about 1/2 left the
          Reservoir @ 10:30-45 am
          and some returned,  we don't             know where 
          the rest came from)
21     125
22     700
23     700 (Many cranes did not
          leave this morning)
24     390 to 400
25     36
26     300
27     500+
28    1,300 to 1,500 
29     200
30     130
31      21 

APRIL
 1      630
 2      750
 3      15
 4       29
 5       17
 6       160
 7       100
 8        33  (Osprey was spotted)
 9        29
10       5
11       1
12       25
13       5
14        0

THIS CONCLUDES OUR CRANE COUNT
FOR THE SPRING MIGRATION THROUGH
FRUITGROWERS RESERVOIR.  

APRIL REMAINS AN EXCITING TIME 
FOR THE OTHER MANY OTHER MIGRATING
AND RETURNING BIRD SPECIES THAT 
COME TO THE RESERVOIR AND HART'S BASIN
 

We try to count Cranes around sunset 
to include the late arrivals, 
and to provide you with an idea 
of how many birds you may encounter 
the next morning at “liftoff” (usually
between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m., 
or 10:00 and 11:00 a.m daylight savings time).

Crane counts are estimates of what 
was seen by one or more observers. 
The bigger the number of Cranes
the less likely the number is accurate.

These numbers are most useful 
when looked at as relative numbers 
of Cranes from day to day.

Sometimes the counts we post
in the evening are modified the 
next morning when we feel more
confident with the accuracy of
the morning count.