The Sound of a Conservation Triumph
By Eliot Berz
Over the winter months in the Tennessee River Gorge, a rolling trumpeting sound is often heard far overhead. This is the call of the sandhill crane, a large migratory bird that travels in remarkable flocks of hundreds as they migrate between their northern breeding grounds and southern wintering grounds. Even more remarkable than the migratory journey undertaken by these massive 4-foot-tall birds is the age of the species. Their calls have been resonating through the skies of North America for over 2 million years making sandhill cranes one of the oldest bird species on earth. However, the 2-million-year-old symphony in the sky began to fade by the mid-1900s with their populations reaching record lows. The culprit of the decline of one of earth’s oldest bird species was humans. Habitat loss and over hunting brought the sandhill crane to the brink of extinction. Thanks to conservation efforts over the second half of the twentieth century, their cherished call has returned to the sky from its brief hiatus. The trumpeting call of the crane now represents a conservation triumph as sandhill cranes are one of the most abundant crane species in the world.
Photo by Miriam Avello from the Macaulay Library
Not only is the species prehistoric, but individual birds can live for astonishing lengths of time. The oldest sandhill crane lived to the age of 37. The age of this bird was known by scientists capturing and banding the bird in Florida in 1982. Decades later, the same bird was discovered in Wisconsin in 2019. These cranes also commonly mate for life spending each year of their long lives together.
Many of the cranes we see flying over the Tennessee River Gorge are making their way to or from the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge where over 20,000 spend the winter months. Historically, the area was primarily used as a brief stopover site as migrating flocks traveled between their breeding grounds in Canada and wintering grounds in the southern United States. After extensive habitat improvements by the State of Tennessee, over 20,000 cranes have decided to stay around the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge for the entire winter. These sandhills are regularly admired by birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts over the winter as they feed on the mudflats of the Tennessee River at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge.
Photo by David Aborn at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge
In a world fraught with environmental crises and rampant loss of wildlife, we can take a moment of respite each time we hear the joyous call of the sandhill crane flying overhead. These birds serve as a reminder that we have the ability to restore many of the dwindling wildlife species through committed conservation efforts. The sound of the sandhill was here long before the first modern human and is now back on track to continue resonating through the skies of North America for generations to come.