Final results

Very proud to announce the final numbers for the 2013 Annual Midwest Crane Count - Waukesha County are in. We counted 333 cranes in two hours April 13th! Between the 26 crane sites with 29 total checklists and 40+ counters we also noted 57 other bird species! Only three sites reported no cranes sighted. Thank you everyone!

Myself and one other crane counter made a brief visit to International Crane Foundation in Baraboo last weekend. Weather was a little on the cool side, but all but one of the crane species was out and prancing, dancing and unison calling. Quite the incredible sight.

One unexpected gift came via the gift shop. As crane counters we received 10% off our purchases. Got several very nice items for a reasonable price, among them Marshland Elegy, Aldo Leopold's sandhill crane essay.

As the Leopold Foundation and Aldo's shack is in the Baraboo area I intend to plan my next Baraboo visit to include a stop there.

And the best part was . . .

2013 count is in the books. Awoke to light snow, 34 degrees and windy. So much rain last week it wasn't easy to find a solid spot along Maple Road to park the car. Sunrise was at 6:13, but the sun never appeared during two hour count. Totally overcast.

I walked the entire length of my site, got a lot of fresh air and exercise, but never saw nor heard a crane.

Even though my site is one of the closest to our meeting spot after the count at Deb's Diner in Dousman, I wasn't the first one there. I had so many concerns about Deb's. Would anyone show? Would too many show and there wouldn't be tables? Would counters show and I wouldn't recognize them? Turns out things went beautifully at Deb's. Plenty of tables all in the same vicinity. Counters easily recognizable. About 20 showed up, most of them turning in their data sheets. Meeting was a great idea and I will always do so after future counts. Meeting at Deb's is also something I'd like to continue. Having a crowd like us fill half the dining room meant so much more to them than it would've at a huge place like Machine Shed, I felt.

Only one other counter I've so far heard from neither saw nor hear any cranes. In total, we had well over 100, and probably closer to 200 cranes counted just between the people at Deb's.

I had no trouble entering the data in ebird. At least two counters already entered their own results.
My site was rolling farmland, trees and residential. There isn't a lot of wetland so it's understandable why I didn't see any cranes. Counters with rivers or wetlands in their area noted the flooding, which probably affected nesting activity and overall numbers.

Even though I didn't see cranes this year I did learn an awful lot. Or at least I learned how much I don't know. Some counters who've been birding for a while were able to identify so many other species of birds. One even knew the wind speed, longitude, latitude and altitude besides the temperature.

Our smallest site actually had the most counters. A 35 acre site in Dousman was counted by two families with three small children. All six of them joined us at Deb's and had the largest table all to themselves. Told us they even built a little fire to keep warm yet still were able to count seven cranes.

Site 1 in the Scuppernong Prairie area easily saw the most cranes and most activity. The counter is still entering her data so I don't have details, but I believe it's in the 70s. She told us she even saw two cranes courtship dancing.

These are some great photos from Francie, a new counter at site 24 near Golden Lake who did double duty with Don and counted two sites for a total of 53 cranes. You can really tell how overcast it was from these photos. Why we start counting at 5:30 when it's still dark I'll never know, but these photos probably didn't have the benefit of a whole lot of sunlight. Either way, great photos! The last one is neat - flaps down, coming in for a landing. Thanks Francie for sharing these.

Thanks everyone for counting in less than ideal weather. We hope you'll join us again next year.

just hours

The count's just hours away. What a wet week it's been! Rain every day this week. Flooding. Cold. Even had some hail. Monday or Tuesday I left work early because of a power outage.

Fortunately Saturday should be dry, but with rain today it's still going to be cold and damp.

When I scouted my new site last Saturday I didn't see a lot of wetlands. I don't think that will be a problem tomorrow. There should be lots of wet lands.

Cameras are charged and binoculars are cleaned and ready to go. A little nervous about walking a dark road at 5:30 a.m., but it's only once a year for two hours. I'm more excited than anxious.

Hoping for many cranes tomorrow.

6 days and count-ing

My first count as county coordinator is less than a week away. Long-range weather forecast is calling for 30s to 40s and partly cloudy but dry.
Drove my new site, 142, last evening. It's not far from home and has a road running right through it. I didn't see a lot of water. Farm fields, yes, but few marshy areas. If nothing else, it's a beautiful area for a walk. Very nice, palatial homes and many mature oaks adjacent to Maple Ave. The site is north of Wales between Hwy. 18 and I-94 and the only parallelogram-shaped site in Waukesha. I used to roam the area 25 or more years ago in my aluminum recycling days, and it's since then changed a bit.

The other site in this view, 51, is the site I've counted the last 12 or more years. Not really knowing what the other sites looked like, I always thought my site was best because it was at Retzer Nature Center, which is beautiful. I never had to trespass on private property! Problem was there weren't a whole lot of cranes. I've been skunked there on more than one occasion. I was happy to share this site with a new counter this year for that reason. I'm looking forward to new territory, and hopefully more cranes.

As many counters as can make it will be meeting at Deb's Main Street Diner in Dousman after the count. I'm hoping for a good turnout.