Annual Crane Count

The Annual Midwest Crane Count is a tradition dating back to 1976. It is one of the largest citizen-based inventories in the world. One of the primary purposes of the Crane Count is to allow the International Crane Foundation (ICF) to monitor the abundance and distribution of cranes in the Upper-Midwest. Each year, the Count involves over 3,000 volunteer participants that spread over 100 counties in five states. 

In April, 2012, the KBNRD and several volunteers from the local community (including local private property owners) assessed 13 different areas of Baraga County for cranes, attempting to document the number of individual cranes as well as breeding pairs. The only way counters can document breeding pairs is to document the “Unison Call”, with 2 birds singing different songs in tandem. 

The 2012 Crane Count involved more than 25 counters, and over 2 dozen individual cranes were counted, with 9 breeding pairs confirmed. 

For more information, feel free to contact the KBIC NRD at (906) 524-5757.