It's important to note that the crane count indicates the number of cranes spending the night at the sanctuary. Many more are often observed flying over.

Crane Count: 59

Species count: 11

December 5, 2022

We had a mild night for our last count of the season. The open water in Mud Lake Marsh was partially frozen, but 59 cranes made it their home for the evening. We observed 122 cranes from the overlook and Bill Wells counted 552 flyovers from the Wooster Rd. parking lot by the Portage River bridge parking lot.

Eagle Lake also had some open water where nearly 20 Hooded Mergansers were seen. Only 1 of the Belted Kingfishes we saw Tuesday remained. He was accompanied by 2 muskrats working the ice/water boundary.

As we left the overlook for our final count a few coyotes barked some goodbyes to us from the north. Nice ending to the season.

Total crane count was 59.

Crane counters: Ross Green, Bill Wells, & Steve Jerant
Compiler: Steve Jerant
Submitted by Steve Jerant

Species count: 11

View eBird checklist at https://ebird.org/checklist/S123521934