If you haven’t had the opportunity to hair the rattling call of the sandhill crane, you are in luck with the DWR annual sandhill crane viewing day this month. Perhaps most memorable about this unique bird is it’s unique call that can literally be heard up to 2.5 miles away. Another interesting quirk about this bird is the dancing and courtship rituals performed as mates are chosen. With so many charms, it is no surprise that the sandhill crane viewing day is an annual event, this year scheduled for September 28th. From 7 to 9am spotting scopes will be set up at the Jensen Nature Park where viewers can watch for cranes in nearby fields. “You’ll have no problem identifying the cranes,” shares DWR regional conservation outreach manager Tonya Kieffer-Selby. “They have a crimson crown and gray body, and at about 4 feet tall, they’re one of the largest migratory birds in the world.” An auto tour will leave later that same day at the Uintah County Library at 5pm and head to the crane’s roosting grounds at Pelican Lake and the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge. For more information, call 435-781-9453.
