Copyright © 1995, Don Baccus
All images copyright © 1995, Don Baccus
For many visitors, sandhill crane epitomizes the Malheur Refuge, and the official t-shirts and sweatshirts available at Refuge Headquarters are emblazoned with them. There are two subspecies which make use of the area, lesser and greater sandhill crane.
Lesser sandhill crane migrate through in early spring and fall, in transit between their nesting grounds in southwest Alaska, and their wintering grounds in central California. Several thousand crane move through, foraging the fields around Burns in large flocks. Few are seen on the refuge proper.
Greater sandhill crane are about 10% larger, as their name implies, and are the crane that are found nesting on the refuge and surrounding areas after the migrating lessers have moved on. Young crane (called "colts") are frequently seen by visitors in May and early June. Nesting pairs of crane can also be seen in the fields surrounding Burns and Diamond.
It is realitively easy to photograph flocks of migrating lesser crane near Burns. Photographing nesting greater sandhills is much more difficult. They are quite sensitive to disturbance, the marshes in which they nest on the refuge are off-limits at this time of year and the other marshes private property. Your best bet is to be prepared to shoot crane that happen to be foraging close to the road.
Crane form life-long partnerships, return to nest in the same general area year after year, and live a very long time. There are usually a couple of nesting pair near Buena Vista Station, and near Refuge Headquarters and patient observation often will reveal a view of the chick.
