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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Hooded Crane at Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Tennessee

A Hooded Crane has been identified foraging with sandhill cranes at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in east Tennessee.  This crane species breeds in southeastern Russian and northern China, and a large percentage of these birds winter on the Japanese island of Kyushu.  
Photo credit:  Walter Sturgeon.  Hooded cranes wintering in Japan.  Birds with brownish heads are immature birds.  Hooded cranes have a red bare-skin patch on the top of their head covered in fine black bristles.  

This is only the third account of this crane species being present in North America.  In 2010, a hooded crane was identified in Idaho, and earlier this year in April, a hooded crane appeared in Nebraska.  It is not known whether these bird sightings are related.
Hooded cranes.  Photo credit:  Walter Sturgeon

The roads and fields of the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge are closed to visitors during the winter months providing refuge for many wintering birds and other wildlife.  Sandhill cranes, whooping cranes, bald eagles, the hooded crane, and many other birds species can be viewed from the observation platform which remains available for public viewing (see link below).
The Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge is a great place to see thousands of staging cranes during the winter months, including the North America's endangered whooping crane. Mark your calendar now with the dates of the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival, January 14th and 15th in Birchwood, Tennessee.  Many exhibits and programs, and spotting scopes and interpreters will be available to enhance your crane viewing experience.

Links and Resources:
Ann Paine's article on the hooded crane in Nashville's Tennessean
Rare Asian Crane report Dec 22nd, Chattanoogan.com
International Crane Foundation on Hooded Cranes
Details on the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival
Directions to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge
Visit my sandhill crane art:  Sandhill Cranes Landing and A Peek at my Current Project
at

4 comments:

  1. eileeninmdDecember 15, 2011 at 5:26 AM

    Great post and lovely birds. What a cool sighting!

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  2. Mary Howell CromerDecember 15, 2011 at 6:50 AM

    How amazing is that, what a neat occurance to have, and been taking place. They are far from home, and yet can find safety in the staging of other species! Bill and I have talked about the possibilty of coming down in January. We are waiting on weather forecast for those dates. Vickie, would I be able to view these birds in order to get close enough images with my 70/300 lens? The Cranes that I saw in September in Wyoming, were it not for the red feathers, I would have never even known what they were, they were so far away. Could you please e-mail me, so I won't miss your reply. Thanks for the share~

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  3. JeanDecember 15, 2011 at 7:49 AM

    Hi Vickie..So we have Asian visitors? Do you think the earthquake and tsunami could have affected these birds? Maybe they just needed a vacation away! Have friends in Florida who have about 8
    Sandhill cranes. They are not far from the big swamp and they come for the feed her hubby puts out.

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  4. AnonymousDecember 15, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    Jean, please tell your friends it is illegal to feed Sandhill Cranes (and Scrub Jays) in Florida, according to the FWC, for the safety of the birds. When they are attracted to handouts, many dangers befall them from proximity to people: crossing roads, loose dogs, etc., not to mention the handouts are rarely what their diet consists of in wild. It is so tempting, but please do not do it. If one crane of a mated pair is killed, the other rarely survives, they need each other, one is always watchful while the other forages. I have seen cranes dead on the highway near a home that was feeding them, the bowl still out.

    ReplyDelete