Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area
Sandhill Cranes
Location: From Hwy. 421, a few miles north of Medaryville at Hwy. 143; turn west and go to the entrance, a mile or so down the road. Ignore the first "parking area" sign; go to the well-marked headquarters entrance. County Road 1650W, to the marshes and observation towers is a short way farther.
Description: This is a nice place to visit most of the year, but its big claim to fame is in the fall from mid-October through November, when thousands of Sandhill Cranes make it a stopping-off point on their migration southwards. There are observation towers where you can look down on fields full of these huge (7-foot wingspan) birds, landing, taking off, standing around eating, and dancing. Best viewed just before dusk, it’s spectacular. There some marshy areas that are an interesting hike, a some prairie remnant patches full of big bluestem grass, which formerly covered thousands of acres in the northwest-central part of indiana. The cranes come back on their way north in the spring, but not in such huge numbers. Once you’ve gone, you’ll want to return every year.
Nearby Points of Interest: Tippecanoe River State Park, Spinn Prairie Nature Preserve. Also check out the tree nursery run by the State Forestry Department here (northeast side).
Cautions: Jasper-Pulaski has several functions; one of them is providing for hunting. Be aware of hunting seasons, but the area is well-managed to segregate hunters from birdwatchers. There are areas set aside for hunting only--stay out! Marshes breed mosquitoes--be prepared. Try not to fall asleep while passing through the exciting scenery on the way up and back.
Facilities: Crane Observation Towers, some of which can be rented for small groups or even overnight; primitive camping.
Sandhill Cranes During Their Fall Migration
Map: http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/images/fw-jp.png
See one of Indiana's greatest wildlife spectacles at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area. Each fall, tens of thousands of sandhill cranes visit J-P's shallow marshes.
Best days
Greater sandhill cranes can be seen at J-P from late September through December. Crane numbers peak in mid-November.
Best bet -- magnificent, noisy flocks are usually seen at the northern Indiana property from mid-October through mid-December.
Best times
Sunrise - Gigantic flocks rise and fly out of roosting marshes to Goose Pasture. The cranes socialize in the pasture for awhile before flying out to feed in area fields and swamps.
Sunset - Beginning about one hour before sunset, flocks of cranes kite into Goose Pasture from all directions. They gab and socialize again before returning to roosting marshes at dusk.
Best place
The crane spectacle is best seen at the Goose Pasture Viewing Area (see map). Resting marshes are closed to the public. During the day, cranes are often spotted feeding and dancing in nearby harvested farm fields.
Sandhill Crane Count
12/21/2010: There were no cranes using JP this past week. However, as with last week, there are several thousand cranes using the NIPSCO generating station and roosting in various fields surrounding JP. Migrating north bound cranes should begin arriving in late January or early February. The best times to see cranes in the spring is February and March. By the first of April all of the migrating cranes will be gone. This is the last post until next fall.
Previous Counts:
12/14/2010: 2,898
12/07/2010: 15,772
11/30/2010: 16,822
11/23/2010: 11,685
11/16/2010: 11,954
11/10/2010: 10,670
11/03/2010: 10,114
10/28/2010: 5,670
10/19/2010: 7,979
10/13/2010: 7,525
10/05/2010: 5,846
For additional information on the whooping cranes (sandhill cranes) see the following Web sites:
http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3109.htm
http://www.savingcranes.org/
http://www.bringbackthecranes.org/
http://www.operationmigration.org/.
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