On Sunday 21 April members of the Nicola Naturalist Society visited the Douglas Lake area in search of migrating Sandhill Cranes. We were not disappointed and encountered at least 2,300 cranes on the ground, taking off or circling in the air before continuing northward. The sight and sound of several thousand cranes all around was simply magical. We also saw a group of 6 American White Pelicans passing high overhead, heading north in the company of small flocks of cranes. Here is a photo showing just part of Sunday’s crane mass.
Flocks of migrating Sandhill Cranes taking off near English Bridge on the Douglas Lake Ranch, 21 April 2013. Photo: © Julie Van Koll – Merritt Pro Photo
How many cranes are in this photo above? Make an estimate and then keep reading to the bottom of this posting to see the answer.
Part of a flock of 580 Sandhill Cranes foraging at Douglas Lake Ranch, 21 April 2013. Photo: © Alan Burger
- Sandhill Cranes (both Lesser and Greater forms of the species) at Douglas Lake Ranch, 21 April 2013. Photo: © Bob Scafe.
Here is the complete list of birds we recorded – 45 species in total. These counts have been added to e-Bird as part of the Nicola Naturalists’ monitoring of the Douglas Lake Plateau Important Bird Area.
Greater White-fronted Goose 22 – flock of 22 on Douglas Lake
Canada Goose 103
Gadwall 1
American Wigeon 28
Mallard 40
Northern Shoveler 44
Northern Pintail 20
Green-winged Teal 12
Redhead 6
Ring-necked Duck 36
Lesser Scaup 260
Bufflehead 110
Barrow’s Goldeneye 2
Ruddy Duck 10
Common Loon 5
American White Pelican 6 Flock of 6 flying high and heading north
Turkey Vulture 6
Osprey 1
Northern Harrier 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 6
Red-tailed Hawk 7
Rough-legged Hawk 1 4 separate bird seen at different locations
American Coot 50
Sandhill Crane 2300 Seen near Englishman Bridge.
Great Horned Owl 1
Northern Flicker 1
American Kestrel 21
Northern Shrike 3
Black-billed Magpie 15
American Crow 18
Common Raven 3
Tree Swallow 80
Violet-green Swallow 1
Marsh Wren 2
Mountain Bluebird 268 Flock of 200 in one area and many others elsewhere
American Robin 95
European Starling 50
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Song Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 26
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Western Meadowlark 18
Yellow-headed Blackbird 1
Brewer’s Blackbird 50
How many Sandhill Cranes were in the photo? To make the counting easier lines were drawn around birds and the photo was enlarged in Photoshop.
How did your estimate compare with the photo count?
Sandhill Crane flocks marked out to make the counting easier – 592 in total. Photo: ©Julie Van Koll – Merritt Pro Photo
We will be having more outings to the Douglas Lake Plateau grasslands as part of our IBA monitoring – watch your e-mails.
