Sandhill Cranes at the Sanctuary

Sandhill Cranes are seen regularly at the Sanctuary, as a wild pair now lives year-round here and others congregate here from late summer to early winter during the non-breeding season. In early October 2011, for example, up to 36 birds used the Sanctuary as a night roost, departing to feed on nearby farm fields for most of the day. By November, numbers generally drop to just our resident pair plus a select small group of visiting birds (less than 10 usually) that then spend the winter together. In the spring our pair chases out all other cranes, including their own young from the previous year, and defend the 300 hectare Sanctuary as their territory.

Sandhill Cranes can be told apart from other similar birds by their striking red patch of unfeathered skin on their forehead and generally grey body. During the breeding season, cranes dab mud on their feathers and are often stained a rusty colour on their bodies as a result. They stand up to 1.5 m high, with a wingspan of almost 2 m. They are fairly light birds for their size, only weighing a little more than a Mallard, although they grow tremendously fast when young.

There have been cranes here for over 30 years. Two "imprinted" cranes were brought here after being hatched in captivity and bonding to people instead of their own kind. Neither of these initial cranes nested successfully and they have long since died, but they did manage to attract wild cranes to the place. A wild male crane joined one of these birds in 1992 and eventually brought its own mate to the Sanctuary and took up year-round residency.

Since 2000, these wild cranes have nested here. Sandhill Cranes are very protective of nest sites, their mate and young, and can attack visitors if a threat is perceived. It is sometimes necessary to close trails during the nesting season for the safety of visitors and the crane family. Please respect all signs and barriers related to these birds.

Sandhill Cranes keep their young with them until the following spring. The young cranes or "colts" have provided Sanctuary visitors with endless entertainment as they learn how to feed, fly, find shelter during winter weather and mimic the courtship dance and calls of the parent birds. By the time they are 2 months old, crane chicks are able to fly. By the time they are 10 or 11 months old, they are off on their own away from their parents. For the next couple of years, they will join groups of other non-breeding cranes, and when they reach maturity at 3 to 5 years of age, they are ready to mate and nest.

The male bird of our resident pair has very little of the white "mask" on its face, and has been at the Sanctuary since 1992. This bird is fairly aggressive during nesting season.

His first successful Sanctuary nesting was with a wild female bird in 2000. The latter died in 2006 and in 2007, he began nesting with a second wild female. This bird is not banded.

This year's "colt" or chick (photo October 21st, 2011), born overnight between the 17th and 18th of May 2011. This chick is nearly always with its parents and will not go off on its own until next spring. It is not quite full-sized.This bird is not banded.

This bird is a research bird banded and fitted with a satellite transmittor in 2008, which showed its migration to Sacramento California for several winters. It summers in the Fraser delta, but has not yet been seen nesting or consistently paired. Photo November 2010. In the fall of 2010 it showed up as part of a growing flock visiting the Sanctuary and seemed to be paired. In the fall of 2011, it has kept company with a pair with two colts, possibly the pair nesting in Richmond. It might be one of their colts from prior to 2008. Note the orange and blue plastic and one metal band on one leg and a blue battery pack and antennae on the other leg.

A bird was banded at the David Hancock Wildlife Center in South Surrey in May 2011. We suspect this was a young bird that spent the 2010/11 winter visiting the Sanctuary with its parents, as our resident pair had three extra birds with them for the winter. The visiting family may have been from Richmond, and in the spring, the young was probably sent on its way by its parents so they could renest. It ended up over in South Surrey to be captured at the wildlife center. It has a metal band on one leg and small narrow black plastic band on the other leg. A feather sample was taken when it was banded, and we know from the DNA analysis that this a male bird.

A young crane rescued near Merville, Vancouver Island in late October 2011 by Mountainaire Avian Rescue. This bird seemed to have lost its flock during migration, so it was banded by the Canadian Wildlife Service and then colour-marked and released at the Sanctuary amid some wild cranes October 27th, 2011. It has not been spotted recently but is a small younger bird with two colour bands (yellow and orange) on one leg and a metal band on the other leg.