The Cranes at Haehnle

October 05, 2026 | Permalink

Most years, thousands of sandhill cranes stage at the Mud Lake Marsh in the Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Sanctuary in late fall before their migration south.

If the cranes decide to roost at Mud Lake, their numbers usually peak in late October or in November. Some years, only a handful show up, apparently preferring other roosting sites in the region.

Here are charts of the weekly crane counts at Haehnle carried out by volunteers from the Jackson Audubon Society.

02,0004,0006,0008,00002,0004,0006,0008,00002,0004,0006,0008,00002,0004,0006,0008,00002,0004,0006,0008,000↑ cranes roostingSepOctNovDecSepOctNovDecSepOctNovDecSepOctNovDeclast count20072011201520192023200820122016202020242009201320172021202520102014201820222026

Data

Counts from 2015 on are from the weekly posts on the Jackson Audubon Society blog. Counts from 2007 through 2014 are from Jackson Audubon’s weekly crane count table.